The coming together print publishers is a rare celestial aberration. However, this is not the first time when some of the largest print houses have got together. We know when they collectively questioned the IRS and hence MRUC some years back. Even at that time, people viewed it as a disturbing disruption, but it led to something good, a better more robust IRS.

In the current era of the voyeuristic audience with limited attention, video-led consumption, social platform-based news sharing necessitating instant gratification, the print is unfairly being treated as a media that has lost its sheen.

PRINT TRYING TO HIT BACK.

Maybe a bit late, but the Empire is trying to hit back with a simple communication celebrating Print in its regality.

A few weeks back, major print players – Dainik Bhaskar Group,  The Hindu Group, Hindustan Times, The Times of India, released their campaign on owned media. Full-page advertisements shouting ‘Print is Proof’.

It will be great if the HT campaign ‘Print is the Answer’ or another such campaign can get teeth by print coming together in a heightened B2B initiative.

PRINT RIDES ON CREDIBILITY

There is no doubt that print is still the most credible media by a margin. The barrage of fake news and the impulsive sharing of it is something everyone has experienced. I hope that many other print houses bury their hatchet and believe in each other’s intent to join the movement. Even if it may just be doing a post-purchase dissonance correction among the loyalists…

Print wants the audience to believe it is tough to trace the origin of the story in digital media.  And that only in print the story before it is printed and delivered to you goes through multiple filters and crosschecks.  Unfortunately, the argument is not without holes. And the current generation does not believe the statement print makes: “If we don’t have the facts, we don’t print the news. It’s that simple. For us, the starting point of any story is verification”. Or ‘if a digital story doesn’t check out, it can always be deleted’.

The new generation feels print is also as much about sensation, colouring, tinting and or manipulation of news. In the polarised and pressurised ecosystem prevalent in the country, it is foolish to believe that ‘No one edits the editor’. However, a large part of the audience from the print dominant era still believes ‘What’s Printed Is True’.

India is one of the few countries where print still holds its position and continues to grow in circulation.

MY TAKE

Print houses must do a collective cover rice correction. It’s much needed. In my view, it will still deliver a better financial position, even if the fringe readers drop out. Print needs it.

Whatever may be their reasons to join the initiative, it needs to continue its momentum. More groups need to join in and help sustain the campaign. They should widen the reach through multimedia exposure funded by a collective kitty. Being in print alone is not the answer.

Some other print advantages are capabilities to keep the story alive till its natural conclusion, share-and re-share the ground facts and developments, address individual sub-segment differentially and place advertisements contextually. But, just ‘Print is Proof’ may be a weak war cry that can lose steam fast.

BLOG/26/2019

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The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) Quarter 1, 2019 findings are out. It brings good news to print publishers. Their reach and readership continue to expand. The total monthly reader touches new peak at 42 crores, a growth of 4.4%.  In this period, the number of households has also grown by 4%. Any daily reach remains unchanged at 39% all India level, 53%. Urban and moves from 32 to 33% in Rural. Reason enough for print publishers to smile.

IRS 2019 POINTS TOWARDS A NEED FOR NEW SHARPLY FOCUSSED SEGMENTATION OD AUDIENCE

The results are based on a sample size of 3.24 lakh households, making it perhaps the biggest survey after the census in the country.  The country must be doing something right as NCCS D/E has also shrunk from 40 to 38%. The percentage of the population having a gas stove has moved from 66 to 72%. BJP should be happy to note, the scheme has made an impact. This growth in durable ownership is seen across the parameters that define NCCS, like Electricity, Ceiling fan, Mobile phone, Colour TV and as they cross the 66% mark, the need for a new more sharply defined segmentation system becomes that much acute.

IRS 2019. INTERNET THREAT STILL a FEW YEARS AWAY.

The findings show a gradual increase in percentage reach in 12-plus individuals across media. It also makes the print publishers happy, that the population that has accessed the Internet in last one month has only increased from 33 to 39% in an urban area and 12 to 16% in rural areas.  The market impression has been different. With the enhanced accessibility, affordability and availability of digital data, one expected even sharper growth.  More reasons to smile for Print Publishers. However, the ONLY 2019 Q1 Unrolled data shows the segment of Active Internet users is at 51% in Urban and 28% in Rural.

If one looks deeper, there is a small increase in the Up to 7 days (U7D) readership for English, which is a reflection of an almost dramatic rise in population of ‘Can Read and Understand English’. I believe that it will give the English print a surge in future.

The online newspaper readership on a 1-month basis at 26% seems to be inching towards the magical tipping point of 32% for NCCS A1 segment. It is still miles away, as this is a monthly readership and not a daily or weekly figure.  Reason enough to smile.

ROBUST PROCESSES AND PROMISES IN IRS 2019

The findings are based on a further strengthened and digitised robust survey process.  IRS promises to be on track and to release quarterly data in the future. Not that much of tectonic changes are expected every quarter, but buzz with every survey does help in keeping the medium in focus. Meanwhile, a group of print publishers have come together for the ‘Print is proof’ campaign.  I have reasons to believe that there is positivity in the Print publishers ecosystem.

Every measurement system is always Work-in-Progress, and it evolves with time and users input.  There will always be detractors and followers of such measurement systems. In the media ecosystem, the second largest media cannot do without measurement and IRS 2019, has adopted a robust methodology in its attempt to iron out the earlier issues and shortcomings.

Compliments to MRUC which itself is a body with representatives from advertisers, agencies and publishers to have done the excellent work. Now it is time for the industry to support and use it to the best of advantage. As usual, it will give birth to a frenzy of readership claims and presentations by Print. Each one unique in its interpretation and slicing of data.

BLOG/27/2019

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I knew all along, there was something drastically wrong with the way the future is unveiling itself. I was on the lookout for a debate on ‘How to fix the future’. Andrew Keen’s session at the IAA World Congress held at Kochi, India in February this year probably opened new spaces for the discussion.

The future is broken.

We are under constant surveillance. Our behaviour is slowly being nudged towards what the dominant biggies Google, Amazon, Facebook of the business want. It is the new era of ‘Winner-takes-it-all’ business that is creating polarisation of wealth rather than distributing it.

We are ignorantly working towards bettering their algorithms. We believe we are getting all this free. Not realising there is nothing free.

The internet is a boon but may be the price we are paying for its services outweigh the benefits.  Internet is the new morphine. Like many of us, I feel trapped in the system. I am addicted to it. I am unable to withdraw or detox.

After having read ‘Internet is not the only thing’ by Andrew Keen, and having an equally polarised view of the internet, it was logical for me to pick his next book ‘How to Fix The Future: Staying Human in the Digital Age’.

And if this is the trailer, what profound changes Artificial and Alternate Intelligence can unleash on mankind, unless we pre-plan to control the damage. History is witness to the fact that we are blinded by our vision of advantages and rarely humans have thought of the future repercussion while it adopted a new regime of services and products.

SOMETHING WENT WRONG.

Talking of the influence of internet-based services and addiction, I find it amusing and true. A potential threat human failed to appreciate at the initial stage. “In the 1960s, we swam through the waters with only a few hooks: cigarettes, alcohol and drugs that were expensive and generally inaccessible… “In the 2010s, those same water are littered with hooks. There’s the Facebook hook, Instagram hook. The porn hook. The email hook. The online shopping hook. And so on. The list is long –far longer than it’s ever been in human history, and we’re only just learning the power of these hooks.”

On the other side, humankind has always been smart enough to get out of the damage path by intense social pressure, tweaking of the technology and bringing new guidelines and reforms to control the damage.  Half of us would believe that we would once again succeed in doing so with the Internet and AI.

In his book, Keen makes a very pertinent point: ‘The computer is the “Brain Outside ourselves” our “Second Brain”. From an evolutionary point of view, there we have taken an exponential leap. The new brain has outpaced our heart, our morality and beliefs. We are so preoccupied looking down at the second brains, that we forget how to look smartly at ourselves. As these devices get faster and faster, we appear to be standing still, as they produce more and more data about us, we are getting any more intelligent: as the devices become more powerful, we might lose control of our own lives. Instead of the singularity, we actually be on the brink of antithesis- let’s call it the “duality” –  an ever-deepening chasm between humans and smart machines and also between tech companies and the rest of humanity.’

THE THREAT IS REAL.

He adds what I call a real possibility:  ‘In the future, we may no longer be in charge of our own creation… Our technology might be developing a mind of its own, thereby excluding and disempowering, and enslaving us. The existential threat of self-conscious algorithms is very real. They might be our final invention.’

Maybe the answer lies in genuinely finding ‘What the Humans are good at’ and will always be a wee bit better than the machines. The current answer is ‘Nothing’. And we in our quest of making machines equally smart and emotive with a better power to process and take decisions are clearly on the path to wipe out any difference. I have my doubts. I am part of the small subset that believes; we are on the way to hastening the end of mankind. And one of the reasons I like reading Andrew Keen.

Most of us are intellectually challenged to understand the enormity of the technology revolution, the amplified inequalities, the creation of parallel power centres feeding on our data and the race to harnessing Alternate intelligence.

HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE?

No doubt, Keen is open and transparent in stating: ‘This is a maybe book, based on the belief that the digital revolution can, like the industrial revolution, be mostly successfully tamed, managed and reformed. It hopes that the best feature of this transformation – increased innovation, transparency, creativity, even a dose of healthy disruption – might make the world a better place.”

The book title ‘How to fix the future’ is misleading. There are no solutions. There can’t be.

Keen presents a strong argument in favour of his belief that “No, not even the smartest technology can solve technological problems. Only people can”. He shares a few examples and stories of how people are solving the thorniest problem in the digital age.

There are directional solutions from education to governance, to fixing the future in time.

The example of Governance in Estonia and the always-on technology for betterment in Singapore shows promise. Andrew warns that the concept of ‘Universal Basic Income’, paid to everyone for ‘Not Doing Anything’  can never be the solution. The only good part is that Andrew Keen is raising the issue. He at least presents a possible solution around competitive innovation, government regulation, consumer choice, social responsibility and education. It is up for healthy discussion.

TOO MUCH OF MOORE.

I disliked the constant reference to the 1516 work of Thomas More’s Utopia. It comes across as a framework of an idealistic world-inspiring Keen.  life is not Utopian.  Though it was interesting to note that if seen from a perspective More’s Utopia Map resembles a skull. Maybe there is a cryptic message in the map design that we are missing.

Go read this interesting book that may sound fiction to many followers and admirers of internet-led ease in life.

Andrew Keen. How to fix the future. Staying Human in the Digital Age. Atlantic-Book-Company. The UK. 330 pages. INR 599

Blog/28/BOOK/5/2019

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Every year on mother’s day, I get a sinking feeling that we are in a time warp. Or at least the Indian mother is has decided to drop anchor in 1980.

I love sharply defined relationships and even the vague unmanned relationships too. In India, we have many such relationships. The relationship between daughter-in-law and Mother-in-law. The Bhabhi Devar relationship. The Jeeja –Saali relationship. Guru-Shishya relationship. However, nothing beats the well defined sacred bond between a mother and the child.

Mothers And Mother’s Day In Indian Advertising.

Mother’s in Indian Advertising have failed to evolve out of the desperate emotionally volatile arena captured by Indian cinema. The sacrificial relationship with its predefined expectations and socially constraining coordinates still reflect the absolutely iconic expression ‘Mere Pass maa hai’.

The imagery of self-less-love, a mother going out of her way, fighting all the odds, eyes with tear dams, will do anything for my child that defined the mother of 1980s still describes the mother in 2019.

The acts that made Farida Jalal, Lalita Powar, Rakhee and Nirupama Roy imagery as the ultimate mother still dictates the overt expressions in the mother-child relationship.

Not that there has been a tectonic shift in the imagery and expectations of mothers. They still sacrifice their lives and ambitions for the future of their children. They work like a superwoman. They are still seeking more empowered roles outside the home.

So, when the brands think of celebrating mother’s day with some specific communication, they tend to remain chained to the overexposed mushy-mushy imagery. It is an easy way out.

Why don’t these communications are more celebratory?

Why mother’s day only has memories and situations aimed to bring tears to your eyes and make you feel emotionally drained?

Mother’s Day Another Missed Opportunity.

The brands are missing opportunities and at the same time insulting motherhood. By continuing to live with the pre-historic imagery, we are saying to the mothers, you have failed to evolve. Your work scope, responsibilities and a multidimensional personality is yet to get registered in the blinkered mind-space of Indian families and society. And dear Mom’s we the advertisers can only digress that much. We can only mirror what we believe our audience will like and not necessarily what you as our audience may appreciate. It’s business as usual.

CATCH THE 1970’s MOTHER

So, catch the EPSON Mother, going out late in a rainy night to her neighbours. She is getting colour prints to help her daughter participate in a contest. Meanwhile, the WhatsApp charged millennial daughter is only cribbing. You know the situation would have been easily managed if she had a printer at home.

Don’t you forget the taste of food, that only mother can make? GITS has you covered with orphanage setting. PARLEJEE is busy milking the old sentimental space of ‘Mother knows without being told’.  And yes, she is duty bound to everything for her children. MOTHER’S RECIPE (Gift of Time) shares a hamper of their products to help create some time for her. There is nothing wrong. At least it is direct and relevant.

Some brands are still trying to ask, what does being a mother means? Motherhood is a phenomenon.  BIBA the apparel brand is trying to stand apart and tell you that we can be a mother in more ways than one. Shaadi.com is rightfully trying to push its own agenda and give a new flip to the relationship.

SUNFEAST tries something different. The brand explores an extended student’s relationship with AMMA at the tea (or is it coffee) joint outside the college. It is at least interesting.

Mother’s Day Special.

So, when I see HOPSCOTCH Mother RAP. The swag of a Mother proudly proclaiming to be the stylist for her children. I see it differently. It is fresh and full of brand relevance. It refuses to be clamped down by expected imagery.  There is a blatant, right in your face product promotion.  At the same time, it remains relevant to the occasion and sentiments. I love it. It statically lacks craft-style, and that is a plus. I will be impressed if it can get the Mother Rap to happen on TikTok too.

The Preganews Gender agnostic good news communication though maybe hatke, make a relevant point.

E

Brands must Converse Throughout The Year.

If mothers are an integral part of your brand ecosystem, then the brand must remain in conversation with them throughout the year.

The audience knows when the brand is being cheeky in using the particular date and day to make a statement. The audience is no longer fooled by it.

Teri Maa Ki. Xhamster Joins The Call.

Meanwhile abroad, a PornSite xHamster is planning to ask the valued customers searching for MILF on its sight, to hold back for a second and call their mother. TERI MAA KI. MILF can wait for your mother can’t.

BLOG/29/2019

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SLICE OF DEATH ADVERTISING

Pic PEXELS PIXABAY BURIAL

The only sure thing in life is death. Rest is just a probability.

We appreciated ‘Slice of life’ (SOL) advertising, however, we rarely see brands leveraging ‘Slice of Death’ ( SOD) imagery and references.

Death is all around us.

Death is all around us. It is there in the newspapers, in the TV news and serials, in social media, and is an integral dominant theme in video games. However, the use of death in advertising remains taboo.

Grief-exploitation is not my interest or focus of this piece. I am not referring to a few brands trying to get into a conversation during tragedy, calamities or death of a celebrity.

Beyond Insurance And Social Messaging.

Insurance brands flirt with death. Some social cause advertising like ‘drunk driving’, ‘Anti-smoking’ have also explored the unchartered arena of death. But what about brand and services not directly liked with death. Do they leverage this certainty of life in their communication?

Can death trigger the right context for brand/product/ service usage?

Death is a simple phenomenon but a complex emotion. A certainty that we don’t want to acknowledge. Its relevance as a shock and clutter breaker cannot be disputed. Unfortunately, it evokes strong negative emotions, and hence, brands fear to associate with it.

Death is hardly aspirational. No one want’s to die. Even on our birthdays, we celebrate the end of another fruitful year on planet earth. But, we hate if someone reminds us we have walked another year closer to the end.

Death Exploitation Can Be Misinterpreted By Audience.

The ads by McDonald’s ( Child Grief- the kid being told of dead father’s liking for Filet-O-Fish ) and Nation-Wide ( super Bowl- drowning Kid- prevention of childhood accidents) in the US have faced adverse consumer reaction. If you carefully analyse, there was nothing wrong in them.

We know the consumers’ purchase decision is more based on emotions than on information and features. We know death is a powerful stage and triggers extreme emotions. Yet, it remains an area of a no-go.

Humour In Death.

We have seen some of the brands cautiously using death to their advantage. Most of the time, it has been used as a scare but to make a point humorously. Remember the M-SEAL ad, where a drop of dripping water changes the will.

Here I must share the fantastic ANTI-SMOKING communication featuring Sunny Leone and titled Eleven Minutes. A beautiful way of delivering the message to its TG.

Radio brand MIRCHI used the Ruddali concept and their engagement creatively.

Lifebuoy soap hinted at young under-five mortality rate and how death can be avoided in its communication. A brief reference that does not raise high adverse reaction.

Insurance Can’t Avoid Death

On the insurance side, death is unavoidable. However, the way it is can be used, dramatised and contextualised is the key to effective communication. Here are two examples.

Max Life Insurance used the fear of death in its communication. My mother hated this communication as the protagonist and I share the name.

Policy bazaar has been flirting with death and eventuality of it, to push people to pick term insurance early. They have a dead man coming back to life for that short time and talk of term insurance or Yamraj getting angry at the person for not taking the term plan when he/she had the time.

BEAUTIFUL DEATH.

There is no definitive answer to some of the basic questions. And as there is subjectivity and personal bias, there are no clear directions. Should a brand use death and its effect? Does shockvertising works? What is the right way to leverage death? Can death be the clutter-breaker?

Here is an example of flirting with death. This short digital film was not produced by the brand and its agency but is highly associated with its theme ‘KEEP WALKING’. A simple story of two brothers visiting the places of common interest and togetherness for one last time.

Maybe this is incomplete without sharing yet another communication developed by the same team that did the ‘Keep Walking’ film. ‘ABC of Death’ is about being alive. And the reference is death. Life and death- after all are two sides of the same coin.

Metro Melbourne for their rail safety did what is now known as the most delightful horrible creation- a song telling people there are more similar almost as dumb ways to die as losing one’s life by being unsafe near train tracks. Any time I discuss this particular creative, I am reminded of daily deaths in Mumbai Local. I am not sure why such a beautiful message has not been localised or inspired some such release in India.

DEATH IS NOT SO BAD.

Few research reports do suggest that elderly people react more adversely to the use of death in communication than youth. However, none of them tells us as to what is an appropriate way to reflect and contextualise?

And in this era of APP for everything, there is WeCroak. It is a simple app that reminds you of death five times a day. You download it from any of the play stores and make a payment to subscribe. Then it will message to remind you of death. And expect that such messages will help you to better contemplate life.

In our Brand-I workshop, we take on exercises consciously focusing on the possibility and certainty of the end of life. We treat this certainty as an integral part of life. We talk of it as a motivator for the delegates to realise how much time they have to achieve a long list of wishes.

Death As Curative.

It evokes strong negative emotions. Even the terminally ill patients and their families don’t encourage discussion on the subject. As if ignoring it can push the inevitable. Last Laugh or Last Word for ‘Indian Association Of Palliative Care’ has taken death head-on and in the process raised awareness of Palliative care.

Here is a wonderful example where the elderly person fakes his death to get the family together. Here is a perfect example of using such a potentially negative emotion during the festive period but leverage it contextually for a beautiful, powerful emotional takeaway.

We celebrate life every day in advertising.
Then why give the only certainty in life DEATH a step-brotherly treatment.

It may give rise to strong emotions but rightly contextualised it can still be used by brands.

PS: I would like to know of some brand communication (other than Insurance and social messages) where the brand has flirted with the end of life.  Do share at facebook sanjeevkotnala and twitter S_kotnala

BLOG/30/2019

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Relive- Mauka Mauka- ICC World Cup 2019

‘Mauka Mauka’ was an iconic communication engaging and entertained cricket lovers from 2015 to 2018. So, it is natural for the reference to come up in May 2019 the start of the world cup.

23rd May, I am watching the 2019 election results on TV. The seat swing with BJP winning is unprecedented. Someone in the group teases the Congress supporters in the family with ‘Mauka Mauka’. It says it all.

I know it is a bit early. India only plays Pakistan in the ICC WORLD CUP on Sunday, 16th June 2019. A date most of us have marked in our calendar. It is another Mauka.

In that family discussion, STAR SPORTS current ICC World Cup2019 communication was compared with ‘Mauka Mauka’. And one can say The cricket enthusiast in me wants another ‘MAUKA MAUKA’. However, the professional me knows in spite of intense rivalry, a serialised communication like ‘Mauka Mauka’ is simply not possible during ICC WORLD CUP 2019.

One remembers the launch TVC. The full song #Won’tgiveitback.

In the last video the Pakistan supporter still with his arsenal of crackers lands at the Star Sports studio. Mauka Mauka continued in champion’s trophy, T20 World Cup 2017 with a lot of Consumer Generated spoofs and somewhere died finally with Asia Cup. The CGS is already on like this SAPHIRA and films by Seven Pictures.

And when you are at it- watch this too. Spoofs are far more entertaining and touch a chord.

ICC WORLD CUP 2019

The current world cup has 10 teams. ICC WORLD CUP 2019 is an open world cup with a team playing all the other teams. Top 4 qualify for the semi-final spot. And the chase is on.

The current communication ‘Cricket Ka Crown Hum Le Jayenge’. Star Sports is entertaining and exciting.

The extension ‘Tum Suro Karo Hum Aate Hai’ promises that the broadcaster is not going to leave any Mauka of engaging the audience during ICC WORLD CUP 2019. And there is my hunch that ‘mauka-mauka’ will make an appearance sometime at least in the social media. Meanwhile, the rivalry intensifies at every level

I am really waiting for the ICC WORLD CUP 2019 communication from Star World to take some twist and keep entertaining.

CRICKET OTHER LOVEABLE AVATAR

It is cricket time. I must mention that I am enjoying simple yet very celebratory communication from ”DREAM 11′. Dhobhighat, Bush and Keys, all of them one relates too.

And when it is cricket- the AMAZON campaign Chonkpur Cheetahs will always be remembered. I missed them. I always feel that there was a lot more potential to this series of communication than we have seen.

………………………………
Blog/31/2019

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Nowadays, it is becoming tough to be a Man. And even Gillette too is getting into the act.

I have been into this simple brand-feature-benefit-transactional relationship with the multi-edged Gillette razor, when suddenly from every article on marketing communication and potential award list started questioning me.

Gillette Started The Battle Of Toxic Masculinity making it tough to be a man.

When on January 13, Gillette tried its toxic masculinity concept and was brave enough to accept that maybe it was wrong to project the kind of masculinity that they have a party to. And perhaps they have been inappropriate in their reflection and projection of not only men act against woman but the woman herself.  (The toxic masculinity advertisement has some 700,000-plus dislikes on YouTube). How right!

The brand told you “We believe in the best in men: To say the right thing, to act the right way. Some already are in ways big and small. But some is not enough. Because the boys watching today will be the men of tomorrow” and I ask, who gave Gillette the right to contextualise and define what is wrong and what is right.

Surely, I have multiple sources to listen, read and follow then a razor brand sharing this purposeful new doctrine. Well, the brand, in a way, went on to almost stereotype all the men in one bucket.

All that from the fundamental insight ‘I am not the bad guy, but I don’t know how to be a great guy,’. Wow, is that advertising trying to be defining a cultural context. And which man does not know the difference between right and wrong, it’s as much as can’t and won’t.

You are free to hold another point of view. That’s Okay. But, it is Tough to be a man.

Is Gillette Advertising Really Purpose-Led.

I want a razor and not a lecture on morality.

Sincerely, I don’t like drifting aimless advertising.

I thought that was international. And then suddenly we have this Spain Gillette asking you Are you man Enough?

The definition of masculinity and what really is a man has been shifting. You can ask the razor brand that is finding it difficult to add more edges to its multi-edge blades.

We have indeed been domesticated at home. We have been along with the daughters of the world lived through a generation of can’t, don’t and won’t. It was always more about how to behave, and that meant more of what not to do.

We have grown with the idolised definition of what a man is or should be. Across the country, there are various definitions of masculinity.   Masculinity, revenge, honour, bravery, money, wishes and dreams were rolled into an undefined heterogeneous mix of directives.  Add virility, beard and performance into that list, and that’s what we know.

Tear, fear and accepting defeat was never part of that definition. It’s still not,  other than the time when on social media, one wants to be politically right. And now this silly hair-cutting tool manufacturing company believing research wants men in Spain to re-evaluate the stereotypes as it makes the real man feel uneasy. Making it tough to be a man.

The Complete Man Was Another Level Of Masculinity.

Raymond’s ‘The Complete Man’ has been trying to tell us what is the construct of a perfect, complete man. It is non-intrusive and has been working. It never shouted or disturbed you with the question, Are you man Enough? And I am still talking of the earlier ‘The Complete Man’ series that was subtle and moderate by any standards.

Men Will Be Men Is Polarised Masculinity.

It is okay.  It is absolutely fine when we men laugh at ourselves. Look at the Imperial Blue ‘Men will be Men’ series. Don’t they teach you and remind you of obnoxious silly behaviour. They tell you in many ways what’s wrong or what’s right. And we men knowing what’s in it for us can take it easy. We don’t need this sharp blade razor manufacturing brand to overtly threatening tone to ask ‘Are you man enough?” or I will…

It Disturbs when Gillette asks – Are You Man Enough?

Funny then for someone to ask “Are you man enough to admit you’re afraid?” And in the Spanish version, it begs the viewers if they are man enough to be a queen? I don’t think Gillette is thinking of asking such questions in India. Life in the current ecosystem is already messed up, why make it further tough to be  a man.

Every research points out that the new age consumers are looking for brands with a purpose. But this? Seems like someone searched for the purpose and then tried fitting in the brand.

I am not sure how easy or tough it was for the team at Proximity, Madrid, Spain to internalise this changing definition and shifting stereotypes before they made the client see their way.

Oh, it is different when the question gets mellowed down to a simple and more acceptable format. “Are you man enough to be you?” Now, you see, the communication is far too convoluted and complexly un-related with the brand.

It may be artistically exceptional and commercially well-produced. It may be superbly directed and well-executed. The truth remains that it is trying to be courageous in contextually correcting its earlier smooth shave gets you everything approach. It’s good that the brand is trying to GLOCALISE the concept, as there will be a razor-sharp difference from well-executed to downright polarised failure.

The brand wants you to relate it to another simple fact that “It takes a real man” to do things, to be himself and do things that may not be right but a must. And this it thinks will add and facilitate an inclusive freer world. Help identify the new modern idealistic stereotype of contemporary man. Follow that changing expectation Gillette have moved from its own admissible toxic masculinity of “The Best that a man can get” to “The best men can be”. Well, that for a change is definitely within the challenging new definition. Gillette seems to be man enough to express regret and change.

…………………..

Gillette May Not Affect Toxic Masculinity Or Help You Find the Answer- But It Will Win Awards

Why do I have a feeling that this long-term commitment to a right directional swipe by the brand is going to get a lot of awards: ‘The Best that a brand can get’.

Do not forget, in Spain under this programme is a small scale prototyped 20,000 students connect programme by sociologist and psychologists. Additionally, there is that judges polarise Gillette Interactive teen chats focussing on real masculine values. There the teens will debate, reflect and surely realise (for the brand’s benefit) that masculinity means a lot different. They will get rejuvenated and charged for breaking barriers that that stop them from being themselves.

Admit, Gillette Has Been Courageous In Their Act. Now They Need To Just Hold On To Their Belief. They may be saying it right and the way they want to say and shake up male thinking and stereotyping – but then I personally see a lot of gap between product-brand and the purpose. Hopefully, I am not alone in it.

…………………………………………………….

DUREX MAKES IT FURTHER TOUGH TO BE A MAN.

Meanwhile, another Man’s friend in need- DUREX CONDOMS tried starting a conversation under # OrgasmInequality. It is talking about a woman faking orgasm to satisfy the male performance ego.

You’ve heard the numbers, you’ve heard the women and you’ve heard the men. Now it’s time we hear you! It’s time to talk #OrgasmInequality and Fake Orgasms. Ask a question, tell us your story or just be part of the conversation with #IFakedItToo. pic.twitter.com/cxeZRHkA0N

— Durex India (@DurexIndia) May 31, 2019

Something that every man knows but is afraid to speak about.

The best friend Durex Condoms did not trade sides but reminded Man that lovemaking is all about mutual intimate pleasure.

Horrible brand, it is asking women to share their fake orgasm story under #FakedItToo. Even if they open about these stories to the man they are intimate with, it can hurt many dudes psychologically to the level of dysfunction.

In India, not many women will share such stories even if it is  Swara Bhaskar and Pooja Bedi prompting them, but everyone would play their stories in mind. It did have an expected adverse playback from men. There was a lot of twitter debate about it. Yet, think the brand is still the winner.

Ther brand is making it tough to be a Man. It knows that females can really influence the choice. Much true in case of condoms. A man will get what everything that gets him the action and boosts his ego. And anyway it is all about Durex Mutual Climax Condom- another pressure point.

This is confusing, as it is the case of “The best men can be” to “The Best that a man can get”.

I just hope people get what is being said above. I hope the stance and comments are not taken at face value.

BLOG/33/2019

The post Orgasminequality Toxic Masculinity- Tough to be a Man appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

Gender Stereotype is everywhere. Questioning its usage in advertising is an excellent thing to do. I may be hated for saying so, but when a regulator starts defining and imposing constraints. It is trying to solve some other problem by finding a scapegoat that is easy and glamorous to hang. This is my shout-out for freedom in the business of branding and communication. Some of you may agree with me bit continue to be diplomatic in this chaotic ecosystem that curbs dissent.

pic: PEXEL MAGDA EHLERS-1386336

The argument for controlling Gender Stereotype representation in an advertisement is selective in nature. It is said that advertisement push people to look at stereotypes differently. They help reinforce gender-biased stereotypes.

Honestly, are we not overestimating the power of these communications? Are we not isolating one channel and trying to solve a more significant problem? Oh, I forgot to add, are we not taking the easiest way out?

What about literature, cinema and other such mediums?

UK Adventure In Banning Gender Stereotypes!

So, suddenly, when the UK decides to consign Gender Stereotypes to history, I can only term it as a Don Quixote moment. I am equally surprised with many from the Indian advertising fraternity wanting ASCI to help replicate it.

Why Stereotypes Are So Important?

Stereotyping, Generalising and Distorting are the biggest problem in any communication. These are the filters through which we accept the communication and make sense of it. It helps the most lethargic organ, brain by creating patterns and slot information. Ultimately, they help to decrease dissonance. Still, we wish to further generalise and distort the representation of the current ecosystem by pushing a non-existent stereotype.

What Is The Correct Gender Stereotype?

Simple answer, I don’t know what the new correct gender stereotypes are. But, I applaud this act of UK. The earlier questionable gender stereotypes (mostly of women) will not be shown in advertising in the UK.

Like you may no longer see married housewife overtly concerned about how her sofa smells or a dad who knows nothing about how washing machine works or women not knowing how to evaluate a house loan.

Stereotype Vs. Reality?

What is being called a stereotype in advertising is a reality. I am not too sure how the ban will help stereotypes disappearing from real life. It is wishful thinking and in reality a showroom dressing.

What we are in fact saying is that, if I don’t see it, it does not exist. Too simplistic an approach.

Brands Must Have Creative Freedom To Use Stereotypes.

Brands have a business proposition. Advertising is a business. Brands spend money on research and understanding their market/audience segments. The brands’ deep dives to find insights that best help them press levers to generate disproportionate sales. They can’t work with some lazy stereotypes from Dark Age. And if they do, they have reasons for doing so.

These stereotypes pressing the desired overt or covert levers, emotional or functional, help them garner sales. I hypothesise that the TG understands and appreciates these stereotypes. To them, it is a true reflection. Why take this liberty from brands.

The old stereotype is as much of lies or reality as is the new one. A husband sharing household workload. The girl touching pickle during her period.  The man getting life insurance when his wife dies.

These ads, communication and activation are excellent. They get awarded. They have made a beginning and that is their choice.

As a progressive society, we must highlight newer possible stereotypes. I agree we must contribute to this positive movement. Not forced into it.

Brands Must Have Freedom Of Expression & Representation.

I am all for freedom of expression and how the brands operate. No one other than the brand has the right to define or dictate how the brand communication should lead the audience or what stereotypes are allowed to be used in this politically correct ecosystem.

No one must dictate how the story should be narrated. There must not be any restriction. The brands remain and should have a right to use whichever and whatever stereotypes they wish to exploit until it violates the rule of law.

Whenever rules are flouted, or when the brands take excessive liberty, corrective forces come into play. Social media asks them to react and defend. The sales drop and brand love is lost. And that is the right way. Until then, the brands and their agencies must retain the freedom to express their brand promise, service or experience in the way they want.

Creative Expression Vs Gender Stereotypes.

Remember Dec 2017. The Government banned condom brands from adverting on TV between 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. at night.  It was not a category issue but a creative issue. There was no ban, control or restriction on condom advertising in print or OOH. Maybe children not read newspapers or see hoardings?

Let me share a hilarious incident that recently happened at Mumbai Airport terminal 1 departure area.

It was early morning. The departure area was as crowded as Churchgate station at 6 p.m.  Sunny Leone was watching every moment of passengers from Manforce flavoured condom signage plastered all over the area.

I will not be surprised if even adults mistake the condom pack for a fruit juice pack. There was this dominant salivating splash of strawberry juices all over the pack. A very un-motherly seductive Sunny Leone was prompting you to taste the flavour of love.

It was visually misguiding.

No surprise that I caught a young brat demanding it. The kid was throwing a tantrum. He continued to embarrass his young mother, repeatedly asking for the flavoured drink.

Where Will You Stop With Gender Stereotype?

You start with Gender Stereotype control. Tomorrow I am sure we will have to stop a seductress like Sunny Leone appearing on condom ads. Why stop there? Why not break every stereotype that affects, impacts and reflects something we must avoid?

To be right, we should stop using a Sardar truck driver, a Marwari businessman, an eye-patched villain, a pot-bellied victim of humour, a girl not getting married because she is educated, a bride wanting to be fair, or a spoiled brat as a villain.

You find that odd.

What about a toy manufacturer?  What’s wrong if they believe that showing girls in pink playing with dolls are going to get them more sales? Dolls will not be sold by showing boys playing with them.

Let Advertising Gender Stereotypes Be Decided By Market Forces.

No one needs research to tell that reflecting the right audience references in communication helps lift brand score. So, when brands realise they are losing out by sticking to the so-called Dark Age stereotypes and not converting to the ill-defined newer stereotypes, they will be the first one to change.

Trust me, that is how a change in communication should happen.

Trust me, if all the people who crib about fish-market ‘news hour debate at 9’ stop viewing it, then many loud-mouthed self-appointed judges will stop circus entertainment at 9 p.m. TRP down Programme out.  Changes happen like that.

Brands Must Take The Decision That Works For Them?

Brands need to be in sync with their core target group. They want to be aspirational and purpose led. Some of them, like Whisper, Dove, and Ariel, have taken bold steps in that direction. They have been delivering a fresh perspective and questioning existing stereotypes.  We all applaud the act.

On the other side, many like Gillette and Durex in their drive to a purpose-led may end up creating problems of different nature while raising questions of #ToxicMasculinity and #Orgasninequality. They must be moving in the right direction.  Only time has the answer.

None of the above brand initiatives and the use of Gender Stereotype or questioning i is forced. The brands are doing what they believe they must do. Freedom to chose the expression remains with the brands. And that’s the way it should be. Love this Gillette ‘She can also make you proud’

Let the Brands decide which Gender Stereotypes are right to use.

Brands can take a leap of faith and reflect newer possibilities. That’s where they move with the societal changes. Or they can ignore the shifting realities.

When brands chose to show the new politically right Gender Stereotype in their communication, it is absolutely Okay. In fact, it is welcome. However, it is not okay, when rules constrain creative thinking and expression.

Some of you may agree with me and protest against constraining creative rights of a brand, whenever this so-called ill-advised ban hit our shore.

Time we acted to save advertising and its right for expression.

……………………….

BLOG/34/2019
First published in mxmindia.com under weekly column KotMartial

The post Stop Questioning Gender Stereotype In Advertising? appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

Brands Connecting Dots To Remain Future Proof.

The agencies are trying to go beyond the brief and pleasantly surprise the clients. It is an excellent thing to do. The new purpose let advertising is keeping the client happy and the agency busy. There is some talk of this purpose led advertising strategy, engaging the consumer and resulting in some revenue realisation.

This is the era of niche. Everyone is an expert busy connecting the dots. Some are busy creating the new dots that the new purpose led campaign will rationalise at a later date. All are interested in riding the new wave, trapped in a cycle of deliberate differentiation and disruptive design. And now you have dots of different creed and importance. The emotional dot that makes the consumer feels. The functional dot explains the product or unique service features. The yellow and red coloured e-commerce dot shouts how much the consumer can save.

There are too many dots searching for the invisible thread that will bind them together. Maybe it is best to get that invisible thread and then create or pick the dots that you want to be the part of your brand necklace of promises and experience.

Connecting Dots Is An Illusion.

No one captures the illusion of connecting the dots better than Steve Jobs “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, and karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

Steve Jobs knew what he was talking about. He focussed on creating fantastic product design and interface experience for the consumer. He was ruthless in his philosophy of no compromise.

Consumer Can Connect Dots.

It was the consumer who was connecting the dots. The brand ‘I’ or and Apple were forming the experiential dots; an un-comparable brand and company.

Samsung, IBM, Nike are an example of perfect understanding of the current dots in the ecosystem. They are all aiming to further enhance an already nice experience. No doubt, the consumer sees them differently.

For the dots to connect themselves, the brands must remain focussed on their karma. Their identified reason for existence. It must continue to have the hunger to create a new pattern by re-arranging the dots.

With a focussed approach, with time, many unconnected dots get created. More the dots easier it is to see or create a pattern. And for that, the brand must survive the threat of time and constant rejuvenation in sync with changing consumer needs and profile.

The world desires Instant gratification. Brands must survive to fight another day. The solution lies in speeding up the process of delivering customer-centric relevant dots in highly information-democratised market.

Connecting Dots Does Not Give You Purpose. Purpose Gives You The Way To Create Fresh Dots and Connect Them.

Every brand wants to be purpose / cause-driven and disruptive. It is complicating things. They are driven by the desire to find the purpose they can claim from the dots in the business ecosystem. Many patterns are being forced. They are sometimes not relevant and many times not natural and fluid. They don’t exist, so they don’t survive. Then a Nokia, Polaroid or a Kodak happens.

Like an acquired taste, strategic planners on brands now only think outside the box. The box is defined differently in everyone’s mind. The brands are jumping in without mastering what has been inside the box. What they really good at. The need they are really catering to. Every project is an exercise in design thinking. Divergence and convergence are spoken as if it was the most refreshing and most straightforward task at hand.

Dots Are Never Permanent.

Every marketing head is busy making a dot that will pass the test of time. The marketing managers and custodians know these are like lines on sand. They are trying to create and understand the patterns before the next tide of shifting consumer priorities strikes. They force their perceptions and unique model of the market understanding reflecting the biases and experience.

The stakes are significant. The failures are costly and the fears real. The success is transitory. Success and failure are also the new dots that help re-define unspoken boundaries, barriers and facilitators. There is a whole world of dreams full of unwarranted inefficiencies and doubts. Everything and everyone is a suspect. No research complete. Everything is always uncertain and probabilistic.

Wanting to see the larger picture and lead the brand on a dream run, brand custodians rightly taking time. They remain consumer-centric. And sometimes they try for a tectonic shift in the consumer profile and gender. That’s when the toxic masculinity and orgasminequality happens.

Dots And Purpose Are Different.

The teams have forgotten the art of keeping the message, medium, promise and delivery simple. They are trying to force a purpose led message in a clutter. They are demanding higher involvement from the audience challenged for attention. Not sure where this is leading.

To create a pattern that can be justified as consumer-centric and consumer dictated trend, new ecosystem push and justifications are used to show dots where there were none. The UK gender stereotype ban, the Indian Government ban on condom advertising between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. are not consumer-centric or reflective of the need.

Let the brand take the challenge. Experience, interact and engage with the known dots at every possible touch points. It must not be forgotten that when the brands use the singularly positive converging experience from all relevant dots in the consumer’s mind, it leaves a stronger impression.

It will always be far stronger than a pattern that is forced to justify the action.

I believe that the consumer can judge and decide. They do. Consumer understands the pattern and can make out if it is logically defined or an act of strategic desperation.

Don’t allow dots to confuse.

Brands should just concentrate on every one of the multiple dots. Giving a real that goes much beyond expectation. Reflecting the true brand-consumer ecosystem and need not be politically correct. When it happens, magic happens. Brands like Apple, OnePlus, Fogg, Kelvinator, Rasna, Nirma, Amul, Maggie, Cadbury, Dream-II, Swiggy, Coke, Pepsi, Parle, Uber, Indigo are some of the examples.

Don’t waste time, searching for the invisible thread that will hold the dots, connect the dots. Just pick that invisible thread and keep adding new and relevant consumer experiential, emotional dots to create the brand necklace.

BLOG/35/2019

The post Don’t waste your time Connecting dots. appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

IAA’s Retrospect and Prospects last week dealt with the CMO curiosity and desire to know. Past and Future have always been of interest to us. The need to know what next? To know of the next trend going to hit the market and communication. In the process, we keep trying to connect the dots, see the pattern. It is very human.

So instead of going to soothsayers, crystal ball gazers, experts, pundits and predictors to help read and connect the current and past dots, the India chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) went to Neil George, MD, Nivea (India and South Asia). On June 27, 2019, to a packed hall at Mumbai’s ITC Grand Central, Neil presented the ‘revenge of the client’.  Retrospect and Prospects from a CMO point of view. Not surprising, to help clear the fog, Neil banked on the last 18-month trends and the interpretation of his expert group from five continents.

Neil George’s Five Important Observations.

1. Loss of Trust.
2. Pessimistic optimism. The pessimists are as many as optimist are there in the ecosystem.
3. The emergence of female superstars.
4. Growth of voice search (mainly pushed by Amazon Echo)
5. The new emerging platforms like  Instagram and Netflix are dominating the content space.

Retrospect And Prospects In A Different Way.

All of us would agree that today, the technology crossover is fast. However, this was a session in India with an audience that was not necessarily in sync with global needs. Still, the truth remains that few brands in India have the budget empowered CMOs and active management to operate and support the level of technology infusion and creativity used as reference points in Neil’s presentation.

I personally would have appreciated if the presentation remained India-centric.

It is not about this session. It is true for every presentation in such forums. The speakers have a love for expressing the numbers in dollars, billion and millions. Keep them, but why not also state them in the Indian way of counting.  Why speakers can’t take that extra pain in converting numbers and statistics.

Neil to make a point had to stress 2.4 billion with a “B not an M”. Well it takes Indian mind a few seconds, but the connection is lost. What is wrong in saying 240 crores. Or that someone charges  5.25 crore instead of saying USD 750,000.

Anyway, everything is not lost. The presentation synthesised the trends and Neil’s point-of-view beautifully. We may not agree with all of them and find fault with few. But this was his POV, and we should appreciate the speaker taking time in putting it all together.

Personally, just using a few picked up examples of film clips and TVCs to support a point is a weak format. I would have loved to have Neil explaining and getting into details with arguments and counterarguments to make the point.

It is tough to get into each of the trends in detail in this article. This is for the lack of space, decreasing attention span and the author’s inability to presents someone else’s synthesised understanding. Trust me, such sessions are best absorbed first hand.

The Eight Trends by Neil George. Retrospect

Hope – Restored?  

The question mark reflects the doubt Neil has. There is an attempt by various brands and audience that shows there is HOPE- everything is not lost. Watch the ‘GULLY BOY’ example used by Neil to make his point.

Trust – Regained?  

Due to information democratisation, ease of message sharing and the fake vs real issue, the industry has lost trust. Not enough has been done in the area of regaining trust. Neil used the New York Times ‘The Truth is worth it’ and FCK ( KFC ) examples. But I share the brilliant Indian example he used to make the point; Samsonite- Kerala- we are open.

Real Stories. Romanticised. 

There is a trend for real stories being romanticised in movies and art.  I would ask you to see Gully Boys and URI. Neil used a reference of  Bruce Springsteen Broadway show.

Celebrities – They Have Become Brands And Stronger.

Oh, they are the same people topping the chart on Instagram and Tweeter! Oh, “Cristiano Ronaldo has 2.5 billion likes from 700 posts in 2018, and he charges US$ 7,50,000 (i.e. INR 5.25 crore per Instagram post). Oh ‘Girls Like You’ featuring many female celebrities topped YouTube charts and has 2.2 billion views. It is the 25th most viewed and liked video ever on youtube. The argument may be valid, but the explanation and support were weak. Take the top of the pyramid representatives in any category, and you will get similar biased results.

Male Superheroes – RIP?  

Only two movies in 2018 which featured real male superheroes topped the charts in 2018. Does that make ‘real male superheroes’ dead? Certainly not. And the question mark cleverly used by Neil comes to his rescue. He has said it and not said it. It’s the famous Journalistic trick used by newspapers.

Creativity Twist- Revitalised.

The examples used of Taco Bell fries launch, every ad is a tide ad, and the Hidden flag are not sufficient to say,  creativity is now more powerfully used.

Production Values – Revival?  

I liked his representation and comment on smaller production houses. I agree smaller production houses can produce great content. But is that a trend! I request the Industry to test the success-hungry craft passionate smaller production houses for content creation. Give in to Giving is an example and so is the famed Viva la Vulva, but again isolated famed cases cannot be used to generalised and taken as a trend. And really, there was no need for Neil in his presentation to introduce the Viva La Vulva communication- with some prelude- including ‘Fasten your seat belt’. It spoke of some bias.

Machines – Are They Coming?

Oh, we all know they are coming.  Voice search (Amazon), IOT and Big data all are pointing towards machine facilitation if not dominance. I thought the question mark was not required in this case. Maybe it is there to question the positive use as demonstrated in the Pizza delivery in a jam and Revoice or the possible harmful use.

The Future. The Prospect.

Oh, here are somewhat apparent suspects and no surprise

Brands That Have Purpose-Driven Communication Will Succeed in Future. 

I don’t think so. I would just tweak it a bit to make it real. Brands That had Relevant True Purpose Driven Communication integrated with real consumer experience will succeed. That also means that many brands who are trying to connect the dots and trying to find a purpose that they can ride to purpose wave will fail. And If I were to bet, there would be more of failures on purpose led than successes.

A Rapid Increase In Data And Technology. 

All thanks to the rise in voice search. My take. Absolutely expected. True. And more lethargy will be built in. More conflict it will create.

Personalisation At Scale. 

My Take. I agree it will happen until there comes a time when the audience will rise to fiercely fight against deep customisation. When it will become snooping and a distraction. The mass appeal and addressing may not rise again, but communication, tribe creation and grouping – in other terms – Niche Segmentation – will once again make its mark.

Great storytelling will emerge to be stronger than before.

I perfectly agree. Expected. With all the ease of execution with technology and platform, this will further become stringer. Emotions stirring will again be the forefront of triggering the audience reaction.

More On Future.

I like his quick but profound summation ‘The future is about sinless consumption’. Neil shared the example of successful Meatless’ Impossible Whopper’, zero per cent beer does point to it. And maybe we are working toward a frame of reference where obesity, carbon positive and water wastage will be a real sin.

At the same time, I believe he missed touching on the fact that brands in their own wisdom will purposefully exploit the big data with hyper-personalisation. It will be the SINFUL BRAND CONNECTION AND COMMUNICATION, misusing of personal data and fragile permission marketing. This may give rise to an upsurge for privacy and data sharing. Newer protection models to be debated. And create a new battleground for the marketers to defend.

The Battles Of Future.

Neil mentioned two crucial battles that are important from the Advertising, Marketing and communication prospects. These are big battles where lines have already been drawn. Where the industry has started taking sides and has their favourite potential winners.

• Entertainment battle. Netflix Vs Disney
• Technology Battle. Amazon Vs Google

Overall I enjoyed the presentation. It was engrossing and engaging.

BLOG/36/2019

The post Past and Future as seen by Neil George appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

Time to Co-Create?

You have to decide. You can leverage the potential and co-create  NOW or regret later.

The IPL is over, rains are settling in, and the world cup is reaching towards its climax. The festival period is still some time away. The Cannes advertising festival is over.  There is no better time than now to start afresh.

Its end of June, the brands are busy firming up their strategies. The proactive ones are briefing their agencies. The real smart one is getting into research to evaluate creative.

Soon the laptops and servers in media agencies will start heating up. The media owners will start racing up to client and agencies for their share of advertisement investment.

Everyone across the brand ecosystem is interested in getting his or her point of view in the final brand strategy and execution. The ego will start popping up uninvited. The bitching will start. Idea ownership and emotional attachment to the ideas will further deepen the gap between silos and define the new turf.

Soon the year will be over. The independent units in the ecosystem of interdependence would have once again failed to co-create. You have to decide. Are you going to leverage the potential of co-creation NOW or willing to regret later?

Management will haul HR. Some of them will get a consultant to speak and introduce Co-creation and celebrate it as a contribution to the learning and development programme.

Co-Creation a must for the brands?

Come to think of it. Co-creation is the basis of life on the planet. There is hardly anything ever created, destroyed, administered, implemented or achieved without co-creation. It is almost like nature has been serving you the secret of sustained success and growth. But that is the discussion for some other day.

Failure to co-create is a disservice to the brand. In absence and resistance to co-creation, the brand continues to remains chained to creativity as experienced, expressed, exploited and explored in our area of expertise or profession by the brand custodian and team. Newton’s law of communication.

Co-creation helps to get leveraged cross-pollination of ideas. It allows for positive evolutionary mutation. Darwin theory of evolution.

Co-creation uses every creative superpower of Making, Hacking, Teaching and Thieving. It builds on the medium and brand promise with Saam (Logic, rational, inference), Daam (Price or opportunity), Dand (Penalty, constraints, frugalism) and Bhed (differentiation, uniqueness, relevance doubt) philosophy.

Co-creation raises questions and seeks collective wisdom to make things possible. Collective wisdom is a level of knowledge, understanding and wisdom that is impossible to be accessed by any individual. Just having people in the room does not evoke collective wisdom. Collective wisdom is only in operation in groups responsible for a joint action addressing singular probortunity wit complete freedom and empowerment. It stretches the capabilities and breaks the barriers for the best results.

Advertising-marketing a fertile arena to co-create.

The creative agency and the client co-create the campaign, and research, insight and concept testing represents the consumer. The media, event and activation agencies play an essential role in co-creating the whole experience and engaging the desired audience.

In all of this process, one critical silo remains traditionally unengaged. The media. And in the process, the brand is ultimately losing out on the chance of co-creating some unique media solution.

Involve Media In process!

It’s rare when the clients and agencies include media in the co-creation process. Maybe they find media entirely transactional. The media is always fighting the war for a share of wallet. They have rarely shown interest in understanding the brands probortunity.

No doubt, the client and creative agencies have not considered them worthy of a brand communication discussion. Most in media have no experience of the fun, charm and fruits of inclusive co-creation through multi-functionary teams?

However, people in media know how the brand strategic direction can be best leveraged in media through innovative usage and representation.

Can Media Take The First Step?

Maybe the media can take the first step. Perhaps it is time for media owners to work with their most innovation savvy, creatively inclined, quick decision making clients and brands. Time to experiment with co-creation.

This is best done with a classical cross-functional team in a two-day offsite workshop. Workshops like InNoWait and ideal harvest, and the one based on designing thinking, constraints breaking, collective wisdom and/or brain-swarming in a liberate framework works the best.

I personally swear by the controlled positive rivalry infused in these cross-functional teams. Each of them pushed to explore the possibilities. The results are nothing short of being magical.

Ideas left at directional developmental stage usually die archived in presentations that are never reassessed. Hence, I suggest co-creation events and workshop take that extra leap of faith and complete the loop by developing the whole idea, including implementation routes.

It does cost time and money, but the results you get are disproportionate. Efficient communication, lowered media weights, revenue and enhanced brand imagery, are some of the by-products.

Co-Create with inclusive Team.

The most effective co-creation team has a comprehensive representation. It is an inclusive team with consumer, influencers, research, client, creative, media agency and media owner team as members. Getting media production department representation further strengthens the team.

More power to collective working?

Co-creation expects that all the members be on the same page on probortunity (Problem or opportunity) definition. This includes brand positioning, strategic intent, experience and possibilities.

The members are chosen not for their designation and seniority, but for the mindset, attitude and passion. They are briefed on the creative process and creative superpowers that they have to attempt co-creation.

Co-creation is like the roulette table. You need to play big to win big. Most importantly, you are empowered to make the call. The decision makers are at the site as an unbiased observer.

Get An External Pied Piper to co-create.

That’s the final requirement. The Facilitator.

You need a Pied Piper to excite the child inside the participants. One who will ensure that the game is played with complete transparency, honesty and curiosity?

The facilitator job is to channelize ideas and keep the heat on. The facilitator ensures participants are not trapped within the coordinates of constraints and excuses. The ideas are not killed in mind. The participant continues to indulge in a childlike curiosity allowing them to question all barriers with a simple ‘Why Not?’ Hence, the facilitator must not represent any of the participating silos.

Co-creation is format, category and media agnostic. It can be used for a tactical or thematic purpose. It can lead the communication or act as a support.

The real fun of co-creation is that everyone is creative and curator. The best idea emerges with collective ownership and increased passion pushing its chances to succeed.

PRINT Can Benefit From Co-Creation.

Though co-creation can happen across every silo in the brand ecosystem of a brand. In the advertising arena, Print media, both newspaper and magazine are the most promising area for co-creation and its benefit.

Co-Creation – Don’t Kill The Golden Goose.

Co-creation works when all the participants have a singular objective. In the business of communication, that is the universal uniting force, the best for the brand. In such a situation, the frame of mind needs to be of expanding the range of possibilities.

The associated Media should be set reasonable charges for execution; they should freely help execute the idea in another media. It’s tough, but in an idealistic situation, if it seems so, they should willingly acknowledge that the brand would benefit more when the idea is executed in a different media. The ‘Go-Giver’ attitude is something that will be appreciated by anyone and sooner or later benefits the brand and the media.

Caution

Co-creation is for equal accountability and responsibility. If you get credit for the excellent work, the team collectively must be willing to take it on the chin when the idea fails to give the expected results. Also, do remember that neither advertising nor co-creation is the answer to every probortunity.

How To Fail In Co-Creation?

It is easy to fail in co-creation. Carry your ego inside the co-creation room. Create a situation of negative rivalry among teams. Make it a place to demonstrate capabilities. Seat, talk, discuss hierarchically. Make a singular department responsible for co-creation. And then the absence of engaged senior with decision-making capabilities are some of the ways to make it ineffective. Otherwise, just follow the nature secret- Co-Create.

Blog/37/2019 First published in MXMINDIA.COM under Kotmartial the weekly column

The post Co-Create with Media is the need of the hour. appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

An effective network along with BRAND-I, the way you are branded in the organisation and the Industry plays a critical role in professional success. 

BRAND-I.

Brand-I is different from personal branding for products. Brand-I is all about you. It is the net summation of past experiences and the impact of re-calibrated expectations people have from you. It subsumes the way in which you make promises and fulfil them.

You don’t own Brand-I. It resides is in the mind of interfacing audience including those you may have never interacted. With every action and inaction, you are sending multiple messages. These messages and signals are being received and interpreted according to the individual’s filters. The audience tries fitting these messages into their individually known patterns to avoid any dissonance. Hence, they ruthlessly stereotype, distort and generalise them based on their own experiences and expectations.

NETWORK.

A network is as an open group of interconnected people across segments, professions and lifestyle. They share knowledge, information, and opportunities. They help, facilitate and solve each other’s problems by reallocating resources and connections, trading favours and obligations among the members and outside it.

It’s the need of the hour. To succeed you need a robust, secure network to leverage knowledge, information and opportunities. In fact, the degree of Relevance and Impact of Brand-I is critical to your potential to take advantage of its collective strength.

In addition to the skill, talent and available resources, even the best of us have to fall back on our reliable, effective network. On the other hand, professional success is mostly due to the way you get branded within the organisation or how our brand_i has been evolving with time.

What Comes First  Network Or  Brand-I?

One of the participants in my last open workshop (Rediscover- Brand-I) raised an interesting question. What comes first, Network or Brand-I. I can say, It is tough to take sides, they both are so interconnected.

It is ‘Effective Network’ and the ‘Relevant Brand-I’ that matters. And one needs both of them. They help to reach a position where the person can further influence and control the inputs and outcomes.

Effective Network.

One has a universe of acquaintances. Among them, we have our networks. Inside the larger network, is a subset called ‘effective network’.

It is not the people one knows by name and/or face. It is not even the set of people in the first and second degree of separation or connects in LinkedIn. It is not the set of friends and relatives on Facebook. Or the people in your WhatsApp group.

It is, in fact, the tiny group of people who fulfil these considerations.

1. You know them and they know you.
2. You have their coordinates easily available.
3. You can, without hesitation, connect directly on the first level with them.
4. They are sensitive to your needs and requirement.
5. They will make every possible effort to suggest, influence and act to ensure a favourable outcome for you.

One of the basic requirement of an effective network is interdependence. It feeds on promise and expectation of action, sharing knowledge, linking connection and facilitation of processes whenever needed.

The more relevant and impactful your Brand-I, the more extensive your effective network. And the larger your effective network, the stronger your Brand-I.

Enhance the Effectiveness of your connects. 

You can work on increasing your network and hope the ‘Quantity Means Quality’ principle works. Maybe the basic network funnel will ensure that your effective network improves.

Or you can adapt the Go-Giver attitude and enhance the effectiveness of your own current network. In my view, the second way is far more effective.

The Strength And Character Of An Effective Network.

Let us say your network universe with an nth level of separation is NU.

And out of these NK is the number of people who you know. A subset of people you can unhesitatingly reach out. The strength of your network is NK/NU.

If out of these NK, only NA is the number of networked entities that will consider your request and be influenced to act on your call.

Then the character of your Network is NA/NK. The aim is to move this figure as nearer to ‘1’ as possible.

The more natural way is to work with-in NK and convert them into NA. The character of your network improves the strength of it.  And here is where the Go-Giver approach works wonders.

The Dead Network.

By know, you would agree that filled up visiting cards, a long list of email or an ever-expanding contact list in your phone is not your network. Remember, if no one is contacting you for help, favours, solution, facilitation or even recommendations – what you have is a worthless dead connection masquerading as a network.

A vibrant network is always buzzing. People here have better Brand-I. And a person with well-defined Brand-I and the go-giver attitude has a buzzing network.

Visualising The Network.

Close your eyes. And think of all your connections like colonies of expertise. Some of them, and most likely in your field of expertise, are densely populated. Some networks that are neither founded on your job, family, passion or hobby, are not so densely populated.

Visualise these colonies of expertise as interconnected nodes.
Now switch on the lights. The higher the degree of interdependence and hence the frequency of connections between two modes, the broader and brighter is the path connecting them.

PEXEL PIXABAY 373543

Now layer this with the power of your expectations and confidence from these nodes. Go ahead use a different coloured light. Let the character of the network define the brightness of these colonies. Fix this visual in your memory space.

Focus and evaluate it. Are the nodes and paths as bright as you would want them to be?  In what way does it reflect your brand-I? How many of those interconnected brightly lit paths pass through you? Which are the paths you would have wanted to be stronger? Identify and note such paths? These are the nodes  you need to work at.

Working On enhance Effectiveness.

• Stop working the visiting cards. Both as sharer or collector.
• Meet less number of people but ensure they are the one you want in your effective network.
• Listen in to the conversation. Know more about the other person than share about yourself.
• Don’t connect only when you have work or need some help. And don’t connect for help immediately on establishing a connection.
• Better, try connecting with no agenda. Offer your intent and willingness to be of help.
• Stop dependency on social platforms and electronic communication. If you can’t meet, talk to them. Try talking to people on your phone list with whom you have not spoken in some time. Speak to your family and friends.
• Remember the Go-Getter approach. Be willing to help and facilitate.

The next series of ‘BRAND-I workshop, Mantra for professional success’ is being planned at Mukhteshwar, Nagpur, Jabalpur and Pune. If interested write to Sanjeev@Intradia.in  or clicks the banner below. Do connect for a special three-hour BRAND-I  session at Management and other professional institutes.

Blog/40/2019

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Surprised! KLM Asking You To Fly Responsibly.

Seriously, someone has to as quirky and disruptive sounding like ‘FLY RESPONSIBLY- TAKE A TRAIN’ to catch attention.

We live in an era where brands are being forced to demonstrate their commitment to a purpose. Look at #ToxicMasculinity, #ShareTheLoad, Jago Grahak, #OrgasmInEquality. All of these are bold and in some way disruptive. Some of them are justified but many of them questionable in their focus and commitment.

The information has been democratised. Marketing a bit deglamorized can no longer hide behind vanilla promises and functionality.

Many categories uniquely fulfilling some need of consumers are now finding out that they are harmful to the whole ecosystem. They are doing more wrong than right. And the consumer expects them to f*$%king take responsibility for it. As none of these is illegal, the companies want to continue doing business.

Airline Industry Has To Fly Responsibly.

The airline industry is one such case. Highflying climate ambassador has questioned its carbon emission impact from 32000 feet and above. Carbon emission will continue to rise until sustainable fuel usage takes off. Currently, airlines account for some 2.5% of global emission.

The Airlines Can Fly Responsibly.

The possibilities exist, and many airlines are making some progress in the area. Airlines can shift to more green or sustainable fuel and even commission Hybrid planes. The airline can work on rationalising route, fleet and size. The seat configuration between first, business and economy class can be reworked. Maybe they can start charging people by weight.

KLM Point Of View.

KLM has been working on the service part of the ecosystem. KLM realises that working only on the airline side of the ecosystem is never going to be sufficient to address or make a sizeable contribution to the cause. Hence, to make it more effective, the airline wants to involve the demand side of the ecosystem, the customers the flyers.

Till the option of flying cheaper faster to a destination for business or pleasure remains available, people are going to opt for it.

KLM wants to nudge the passengers (the demand side of the ecosystem) to help make a positive contribution. This thinking is the foundation of the campaign FLY RESPONSIBLY. Here is the quote from the KLM website. “Fly Responsibly is KLM’s commitment to taking a leading role in creating a more sustainable future for aviation. With the introduction of Fly Responsibly, we’re making the world aware of our shared responsibility. We can only succeed if we work together, so join us today for a more sustainable tomorrow.” And it is already one of the world’s more fuel-efficient airliners.

How To Fly Responsibly the KLM way.

The airline wants the flyer to consider other travel options, like a train. It gives an example that flying from Amsterdam to Brussels takes longer than going by train. Maybe it wants to get out of uneconomical shorter routes!

KLM asks the flyer to evaluate if the travel is really needed. Or one could use the various technology tools like Skype and web-links etc. to conduct the business. It is nothing new; many companies have already adopted this system of doing business.

KLM wants a flyer to pack light to help burn less fuel.

It wants the flyer to voluntarily pay to offset their travel carbon footprint. The cost of carbon print offset is around 1 to 1.5% of the total cost of travel. However, when flyer opts for CO2ZERO service of KLM, he or she contributes to the ‘CO2OL Tropical Mix’ reforestation initiative in Panama where so far at least 3,5 million trees have been planted.

These are small steps. The airline hopes these suggestions will nudge the customers to mould their behaviour.

No One Wants To Take The Tough Route.

KLM could have been the first one to charge passengers by the weight. So if a passenger is above a certain weight (just like baggage allowance), they have to pay extra. In the process, forcing some frequent flyers to reduce weight and be health conscious. Or it could have promoted healthy ways by giving a discount to lighter people.

It could have increased the extra baggage rates exponentially, thus nudging passengers to pack light.

It could have stopped services between the towns where other modes of travel are faster and equally comfortable & convenient.

It could start charging rather than asking flyers to voluntarily opt for CO2 footprint offsetting.

Thus the airline could have forced the consumer to think again.

We all know it is impossible for a single airline to do so. It will be priced out of the market. However, the Government can bring in laws and policies equally impacting all airlines.

Is KLM Serious About Your Not Taking The Flight?

Yes, I believe it is. This communication is not like the fake COKE or the ‘Stop eating Tide Pods’ communication. It is not even like the ‘HT NO TV DAY’, where a newspaper was asking people to have a no-TV day.

It’s the airline wanting you to just fly responsibly.

Before you raise your eyebrow, they have no intention to stop flying.

The airline tells you “It is our business and we want to stay in business… We are stepping up to speed up progress towards a sustainable future, but we are a company that needs to make a profit to survive and to continue to invest in sustainable solutions. We want to still be around when we have succeeded in our efforts to make aviation sustainable.” And it tells you in, FLYING RESPONSIBLY is a two-way street, we the airline and the flyer both are equally responsible.

A Good Gimmick Or A Responsible Act.

Frankly, in spite of all the explanation in the website and umpteen videos available on YouTube, for some reason, KLM’ Fly Responsibly’ looks gimmicky and not cause-driven. Maybe it is the distrust in such campaign that makes me think so. I think we will have to wait and watch how the campaign develops and what further steps the airlines take to engage, involve and nudge the passengers.

The airline has definitely taken the lead. It seems to be ahead of possible politically and global regulations that may hit the industry sooner than later. Being the more fuel-efficient airline with experience with sustainable fuel is Fly Responsible a great PR lobby idea to push the Government to impose a Carbon Footprint Offset tax or cess, it will benefit KLM.

FLY RESPONSIBLY has helped KLM garner a thought share. Whatever may be the reason, I do hope it succeeds in its attempt to nudge the consumer. Every step counts.

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ASIDE.

Meanwhile, I don’t think it is going to make anyone of us shift from Delhi-Mumbai flights to Rajdhani or Mumbai-Nagpur to Duranto. We are an equality-operated economy. The airports and air-travel are as uncomfortable and inconvenient as the train. Hence if AIR-INDIA or INDIGO or VISTARA will talk f fly responsibly, it could only hint for the flyers to behave appropriately, stand in the queue, don’t should and fight, follow instructions.
I will leave you with this DON’T EAT TIDE PODS message, just for fun. Very impressive, very purposeful.

BLOG/41/2019

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China Air Breaks Category Templates.

In India, China Airline has a biweekly service between Delhi and Taipei. It accounts for some 0.1% of the total international air traffic in and out of India. Most likely that I would have missed seeing this brilliant communication “What Travel Brings You” from China Air, thanks for one of the updates from Campaign.

Brands usually associate with advantages, opportunities and positivity in life. They want the target audience to link these with their usage. They want to engage and involve the target audience, mostly good things. Many times all the brands start getting guided with the same category ethos and promises.

It is no different in the case of airlines. Safety, Luxury, taste, entertainment systems, the gourmet serving, comfort and pleasing smile of the in-flight crew are hygiene for airline brands. It has long been so. Earlier in the year 1995 or even 2010, China Air spoke a language deeply soaked in category clues.

Fortunately, China Air has moved on. It has broken free of the category expectations, the constraints and the blinkers. Thankfully, unlike KLM, it is not another purpose-led #FlyResponsibly Campaign.

China Air Is Seriously Taking On The Unexpected.

Getting married or even pregnant, injured or cursed, love and hate- everything is an unexpected possibility. Flying takes you to different cities and countries, creating that window of uncertainty when you are in a new place and meet new people. China Airline “What Travel brings you,” Campaign is a beautifully crafted disruptive work by the agency Leo Burnett Taiwan that speaks to the new tribe of travellers.

“What Travel brings you” is the celebration of the unexpected. It is an insightful and engaging Campaign. It speaks the language of a traveller and connects at multiple levels.

Travel adds to the life of a traveller. With every journey, a traveller becomes richer with the knowledge and experience after every travel. Some of these are planned and expected, some really unexpected. Each of these experiences impacts the way the traveller shapes future decisions. Travel impacts our lives. Trust me, it is the unexpected that makes the journey worthwhile.

A for the unexpected, “You never know what travel will bring into your life…. Let’s go find out”, is a powerful summation of the thought and an invitation to travel.

The Unexpected – Unexpected China Air.

The team has thoughtfully picked up brilliant examples of the unexpected. A campaign like this can remain as fresh as the list of unexpected consequences. As every city, community, tribe, nature and geography has something unique, the Campaign also boosts the traveller seeking more than mere physical experience. I have a huge expectation from the unexpected. And wish that the China Air brand association with the thought were a lot stronger. Till now it seems to work for travel promotion, not necessary China Air promotion.

It is a bold campaign. You do end up watching it a few times. It breaks free of the stereotyped over-exploited category clues and charts a new territory that the audience relates to. Here are some of the unexpected you encounter in the China Air campaign. Plastic surgery from Seoul, and now her face does not match the ID. The marriage certificate signed at Las Vegas’ instantaneous no-question asked weddings. The injuries one got at the Ski trip. Surprises win at a casino in Macao. The extra inches at the waist after the Bangkok trip. A tattoo that is no longer wanted. A statue that is spooky from Edinburgh. And even the unexpected pregnancy a souvenir from a Gold Coast trip.

On first viewing, it seems the airline has purposely picked up the bad experiences. Slowly when you start looking back at your own experiences, you start appreciating the Campaign more. It does add a smile to your face.

On The Side.

I don’t know, but there are reports that China Air invited 60 women with an unexpected pregnancy and discussed the geographical origin of the pregnancy, ultimately awarding one of them with a three-week stay to revisit the destination.

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China Air Earlier Campaigns.

It is not that China Airline always talked this language. This particular ad made me check and see their earlier communication “The Trip You Have Promised,” Wow, another gem. The guilt of postponing promised trips. It was a great way to remind a large section of potential travellers of their own bucket list and promises.

And way back in 1995, you really did not expect anyone breaking the category code. The campaign “We Blossom Every Day“.

Earlier like everyone else in 1980’s they were also busy Cherishing Every Encounter.

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PS.: AIR CHINA Vs. CHINA AIR. Air China (CA) was founded relatively recently in 1988 and is the national airline of China. It became a member of Star Alliance in December 2007. China Airlines (CI) was founded in 1959 and is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of Taiwan.

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Blog/42/2019

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In 2018, VistaPrint released the TVC ‘Professional’. It uses a very myopic definition and understanding of the term Professional.

Tailoring is a profession, and many tailors are professional. In the PrintVista TVC, the young tailor is rejected by his potential future Father-in-law. The father of the would-be-bride wants his daughter to marry a professional.

It is a cue for the prospective groom, the ‘Very Good Tailor’ to flash multiple branding items. He presents a visiting card. Then goes on to offer a branded pen, cap and T-shirt. The father is wonderstruck. He now speaks a different language. He wants to know the marriage date.

The branded items flashed by the young tailor does magic. It changes him from a mere smart tailor to a professional tailor. There is newfound respect.

PROFESSIONAL VISTAPRINT EMBED:

On the surface of it, VistaPrint is doing their job. There is nothing wrong or illegal. No point bothering ASCI with it.

WHO IS A PROFESSIONAL?

It raises a question. Who is a professional? Sometimes it is a question of impressions. A smartly dressed person at work easily qualifies as a professional. Though appropriate dressing for the job is a part of being professional, it is not the end of it.

Professional and non-professional jobs are mostly differentiated by the need for a higher level of learning. It then tends to exclude people who are great at their work, learning the skills on the job or inheriting a vocation. It is restrictive in nature and leads to unnecessary polarisation.

For some, Professional is equated to advanced degrees or certificates hung on the work area.

PROFESSIONAL?

Going by the dictionary, a professional is both an adjective and a noun.

As an adjective, it defines that the person relates to or belongs to a profession. He or she is engaged in a specified activity as the main paid occupation rather than as an amateur. As a noun, it merely relates to a person engaged or qualified in a profession. And hence,  the tailor, bus driver, mechanic or anyone engaged or qualified in a profession is professional.

The VistaPrint communication blatantly discards the definition.

A professional mechanic at work. Pic pexels.com FancyCrave

In our country, Rahul Bose’s two banana’s, Virat Kohli squad picture without Rohit Sharma and the religion of a Zomato delivery person creates so much buzz in the social media. However, the professionals have nothing to comment on Vistaprint commercial. Maybe, they don’t consider such communication diluting their tag.

ARE YOU A TRUE PROFESSIONAL?

Being professional is easy. ‘True Professional’ is a different ball game. It requires exceptional job performance and a distinctive attitude. The attitude called professionalism.

PROFESSIONALISM IS AN ATTITUDE.

On a superficial level, professionalism is about behaviour and delivery. It includes compassion for others, responding appropriately to the emotional response, demonstrating respect for others and being helpful to people in need.

At the same time,  it is about being reliable, competent and ethical in work situations.

There are simple traits that qualify professionalism. Ethical behaviour based on intrinsic knowledge. The capability to differentiate between what is right and wrong and the confidence to act on it. An altruistic attitude demonstrated by responsible conduct.  Knowledge and expertise in their roles. Continuous engagement aimed at intellectual development.

ARE WE REALLY PROFESSIONAL AT WORK?

Now, this is becoming tough. Many of us will fail the above definition. Most of us are okay as far as appropriately dressing for the role is concerned. However, it is different when it comes to respecting other people time. Are we on time for assignments and engagements? Do we really work efficiently? Do we deliver on promised timelines? Sorry to have touched a raw nerve.

PROFESSIONALISM AT WORK?

Here is a small test. Answer the questions and check how professional you are? More the Yeses, more professional you are. Now no one is asking you the score, so be as transparently naked and honest as possible.

1. Do you have a positive attitude towards work and life?
2. Are you reliable in your role?
3. Do you always try to deliver above expectations?
4. Do you engage and purposefully work towards developing your capability and skill?
5. Do you regularly pause, reflect on your work, absorb the learnings and move on?
6. Do you communicate clearly?
7. Do you have the required written and oral communication skills?
8. Do you speak up when you see something wrong happening? Ethically or morally or process-oriented.
9. Are you open to critic?
10. Do you willing to accept feedback?
11. Are you respectful to your co-workers across levels?
12. Do you discourage politics at work?
13. Do you encourage or discourage work gossip and rumormongering?
14. Do you promote gender equality?
15. Do you raise voice against sexual harassment at work?
16. Do you know the difference between being professionally friendly and friendly Professional?

A score below 12 should make you think. As professionalism is not a percentage score. Just like there is no half-pregnancy or half-cancer, you are professional, or you are not!

….. BLOG/ 44/2019…….

The post EASY WAY TO TURN PROFESSIONAL: VISTAPRINT appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

The advertising club completed the trilogy of Media, Creative and Digital review by introducing ‘D-Code’ in 2018. ‘D-CODE’ has a definitive promise.

1. Industry experts expected to focus and share “One Best Work of Theirs”, the genesis, strategic intent, logic, and the result of the successful digital intervention.
2. Share ‘3 Tips On How To Break The Digital Code’, like trends, expectations or tips to maximise outcome.
3. As a bonus, the format promised. Industry experts will boldly walk into the not so comfortable arena outside their ecosystem. They will pick ‘One Best Work Of Another Brand’, and share their take on.

The Industry experts are expected to do justice to all this in 10 Minutes each.

D-Code 2018 Raised Expectations.

D-Code 2018 proved the format was excellent. The speakers were engaging. It was a ‘Paisa Vasool’ event. The audience was hungry with expectations raised bt the D-Code 2018 edition.

D-Code promised to be a quickie with multiple orgasms. Who won’t fall for it?

Unfortunately, D-Code 2019 edition did not raise the bar. It once again endorsed content is the king, and content more than the speakers is the secret ingredient essential to carry forward a successful format.

D-Code 2019

The organising team at the advertising club did an incredible work behind the scene. You cannot fault them as all speakers turned up and surprising them. The audience was ready for a long session with 13 speakers! They expected the speakers to engage and weave magic with their content and the passion for sharing.

Few speakers made futile attempts to test Einstein Gravitational Time Dilation theory. In the process, they messed with the concept of relativity in time. It is a known fact that for the audience, time moves fast when the content is relevant and engaging. Sorry, there were hardly examples to talk about in the 2019 edition of D-CODE.

D-Code Format Needs Tweaking And Discipline.

No, the format was brilliant. What was needed is additional guidelines and strict adherence to the code of 2+4+3 format.

1. Two minutes for the ‘WHO AM I?’ plugin and the tips.
2. Four minutes, for ‘One Great Work of Theirs’.
3. Three minutes for ‘One Good Work From Other Brand’.

More than a few speakers managed to bring in a superficial reference to the work outside their area of influence and control. The ‘One Good Work From Other Brand’ dissected to add to the audience knowledge. This is what an expert is required to do. Share the ‘Fly on the wall’, an outsider perspective not just naming a campaign as  ‘Inspiring’ and move on.

No Decoding Digital Code.

Maybe the ‘TIP’ business, decoding the Digital code forced the organisers to select the Speaker by name, brand and designation, not necessarily in that order. It placed additional pressure. Many coming back with the most used escape route of ‘There is no code in digital’. Wow, so much for the experts and D-Code.

Here, is a silly suggestion. Maybe the organising team can consider doing away with this Digital code; tips business. It is anyway inferred and part of the other two subjects. Perhaps, we could have one speaker focussing and summarising all the tips and trends that other speakers contribute. It will surely save time and repetition.

D-Code Speakers.

We miss the truth that all Industry experts are not best presenters. Bell curve is omnipresent. I bet the organising team knows it. What, I may be suggesting could be highly impractical but worth considering. I know the names matter in such a format. Pre-select the work, which most likely been done. And then let the associated organisation ask their best presenters to be on the stage. Who may or may not be the CXO.

D-Code is a colossal event. A speaker must respect the opportunity. It is silly for anyone to share working on the presentation until 2 am last night. The audience sees that as a last-minute compiling of fact sheets. No speaker should take the captive audience through their resume substantiating and justifying what they share and where they come from.

More importantly, in digital, where a quarter is like a decade, stop presenting dated work or meandering and rumbling through the allotted time. These are digital experts. Having done scores of successful presentations, adhering to time should be least to expect. Yes, the speakers spoke of an alarming drop in attention span of consumers. However, they choose to ignore this vital truth while delivering the talk!

Digital Code Shared At D-Code 2019.

Everything is not lost. The Industry experts and in the process D-Code did not let down the audience. There were some gems of collective wisdom shared in the event. Few presentations were right at the target. And if the gems from D-Code I share below seem cryptic and tough to understand, maybe you should have attended the event.

1. Digital is not about the output; it’s about the outcome. It is valid for any and every initiative, engagement or interruption across media. It is a brilliant observation.
2. Don’t expect the consumer to be perfect, do allow for and/or exploit the spelling errors and exploit it in the search business.
3. Stop attempting to do ‘something cool’. This should guide or kill a few discussions.
4. ‘Authenticity’ is an essential ingredient. So is follow-through and amplification.
5. Content needn’t be paid, or a minute long, or 10 seconds short. The idea and the message need to resonate, and the story needs to be told- if it’s a bad idea, 10 minutes isn’t enough. We all know but rarely follow it.
6. Ideas can come from anywhere. Spirit of innovation and ideas must be fostered- whether internal creative, creative agency or brand partner or social agency. It is immaterial. Global truth-I.
7. Be comfortable with having a couple of ideas that don’t work. If you are not failing a all. You’re not pushing the boundaries hard enough. Global truth-II.
8. Brand relevance must be intrinsic to the idea.
9. Organisations have been slow in embracing technology and digital into their core competencies. What was science fiction at a point of time has become a part of real life? Technology is powering our ecosystem. No one will dispute it.
10. Every medium has its own grammar. Build the idea according to the grammar of the media. Do not cut-copy-paste or just make adaptations. It may be worthwhile to spend more on production than the media. I seriously endorse it.
11. No matter what the agencies tell you, there is no code for cracking viral communication. If it is timely, apt, relevant, innovative, engaging, and the audience is tempted to share, it becomes viral. Keep listening and latch on the opportunity as and when it comes.
12. Mass marketing is essential to brand marketing and growth. Okay, go and debate it.
13. Deep dive and use consumer data. Listen to the consumer.
14. The biggest truth. The consumer is still a human being. Now we call it being analogue. There is no difference in ‘brand building’ in an offline and online environment. The most important learning.

My Take.

Thank god, that the industry still finds it reasonable to refer to the consumer as an analogue and not some AI-based algorithm. Emotion and irrationality is still part of the package. Even with big-data and implicit research, consumer reaction cannot be easily predicted. Triggers and levers, as well as right positioning, still matters. The brand ownership is moving to the consumers, and the brand teams now remain just the custodian like the bank manager where you have a locker. Meanwhile, the brands are dying to stay relevant by searching for the elusive cause.

Special mention Kenny Sabastian.

I suspect that the audience missed the seriousness in stand-up comedian Kenny Sabastian’s presentation. He used his tradecraft to deliver his insightful observations in the garb of humour.

Kenny Sabastian almost single-handily raised the mood. His mantra had a deeper meaning and direction. Be authentic, consistent, intelligent and fearless. Stop boardroom masturbation when you discuss ideas, brands and executions. No point seeking answers in the numeric led matrices for self-pleasure. Stop taking yourself too seriously. Just be alive, do your best and keep moving forward.

His three wonderful tips for you to decode and imbibe.

1. Learn to create before you sell.
2. Technology changes, people don’t.
3. Make fun of yourself. ( Don’t take yourself seriously).

D-Code 2020.

D-Code also reintroduced me (and hopefully to a large section of audience) to few o campaigns I have otherwise missed taking note of. I personally loved revisiting ASK NSTLE, HaggleBot, Kingfisher’s Instant Beer mix prank, Pepsi Swiggy Swag, Omnipresent Radhika by Netflix, Swiggy’s voice of hunger campaign and the pirated URI implant.

I love the format and the efforts put in the advertising club team, moderator Vikram Sakuja, narrator Punitha Arumugam and the speakers. With minor tweaks and some more discipline, it is bound to a great event. I am in for D-Code 2020.
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List Of ‘D-Code 2019’ Speakers In Alphabetical Order.

(1) Amarjit Singh Batra, MD, Spotify (2) Jogesh Lulla, COO, Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment (3) Karan Bedi, CEO, MX Player (4) Mustafa Ghouse, COO, JSW Sports Pvt Ltd (5) Nirmal Pulickal, Head–Facebook Creative Shop (6) Partha Sinha, VC& MD, McCann Worldgroup (7) Rashi Goel, VP- Consumer Communication Media, CRM & NHW, Nestle (8) Sachin Sharma, Director – Sales & Partnerships; Bytedance (Tik Tok) (9) Sidharth Rao, CEO & Co-Founder, Dentsu Webchutney (10) Srivats TS, VP Marketing, Swiggy (11) Sumeet Narang, Vice-President – Marketing, Bajaj Auto (12) Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director, Google (13) Kenny Sabastian Standup Comedian

The post D-Code 2019. Decoding the Digital code. appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

I liked Chandramouli Venkatesan’s first book ‘CATALYST’.  The blurb of his next book ‘Get better at getting better’  interested me. It suggested -up suggested some similarity in thinking, I picked the second book. Getting better is evolutionary thought and the route to survival from Darwinian time.

Chandramouli Venkatesan, in his book ‘GET BETTER AT GETTING BETTER’ identifies He identifies four ‘core abilities’ that we need to focus professionally.

1. People skill / relationship / leadership / personal value system.
2. Analytical skill/comfort with numbers / logical reasoning.
3. Conceptualisation and intuitive skills / creativity / insightfulness.
4. Organised / disciplined / planned / efficient.

He says to get better in these ‘core capabilities’, one needs to develop the capability to succeed and continuously improving. He refers to it as ‘Get Better Model’ or GBM. This GBM seems to be the differentiator.

GBM is all about,

1. Getting better by yourself. Deliberately getting better from what you do on a daily basis by yourself, without external help.
2. Getting better by leveraging others. Deliberately leveraging all external resources available to you to get better.
3. Making others get better. Deliberately building an ecosystem around you that multiplies your efforts.
4. Making and implementing a get-better plan. Deliberately making a plan and implementing it to get better in a few areas of focus.

Read the book to know how to get better at getting better. It can help you unleash your potential at both personal and professional life.

Getting Better is practical.

Chandramouli Venkatesan proposes a doable practical model. It is based on his own experience and experimentation through his career. It is ultimately a question of mindset and your approach and attitude toward being successful.

What I find right with the book is the simple, easy to read and understand language. There is hardly any jargon. No heavy stuff. In fact, Chandramouli Venkatesan tries his best to simplify everything using some mathematical interpretations.

On the other side, I find the thoughts too iterative, and an attempt to address all the possible stakeholders in one book dilutes the notion.

In a nutshell, the simple thought is the process of always looking at trying to improve, not necessarily seeking and learning the answers but the process to arrive at the answers. This whole process has to be deliberate. Once you build the habit, once you build the discipline, it becomes quite easy, as it then becomes your default process.

Get Better at Getting better and  BRAND-I.

I recommend reading the book. However, if you have to pick between the two books by Chandramouli Venkatesan, I will recommend ‘Catalyst’ over  ‘Get better at getting better’.

It is true that ‘Success is not about how good you are, it is about how powerful and effective a model you have to improve how good you are’. And in my Brand-i sessions, I add ‘ Success may not be completely a function of your skills and talent, but how well you are branded within the organisation’. GBM may actually help your Brand-I to be relevant and impact your career positively.

Chandramouli Venkatesan nails when he says ‘At work, the responsibility for each one of us getting better rest squarely on our own shoulders’. There is no point expecting help unless you demonstrate the hunger for getting better.

Another thought that makes me back; this is the area of being selfish. This is what I endorse and share. I have been propagating that people must give more to their profession, Be-selfish in achieving what you aim for. And when Chandramouli Venkatesan says that ‘results are transitory and results belong to you, the team and the company. However, the extent to which you have got better solely belongs to you. The purpose of getting better is to be able to respond better to the future, if we get better, then our response will be better’. Well, it does echo well.

RECOMMENDATION.

One chapter that all professionals must-read is about raising the effectiveness of meetings. Chandramouli Venkatesan provides a practical solution of leveraging meetings and How do we get better at meetings?

I will stop myself from sharing anything more from the book. This is a self-help book, which can only help if you read, Pause, Reflect, absorb, and move on to reflect again. Absorb, include the aspect of putting in to practice what you learn, without which nothing matters. Because knowing is not about embedding and changing and ‘Getting better is not an indulgence’.

…………………………………………………….

‘Get Better At Getting Better’ by Chandramouli Venkatesan. Pages 231. INR 299. Penguin.

BLOG/46/2019

The post Get Better At Getting better. Book Review. appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

On its 60th anniversary, Fevicol has pleasantly surprised its audience with a gem of a 90-second TVC. 

Art Vs. Commercial Films.

Earlier there were ART films of what was known as parallel cinema and Commercial films. Then someone bridged the gap by making art films that were a commercial success. Films like ARTH, Salam Bombay, Chakra, Masoom, Saaransh, Ardhsatya, Akrosh, 36 Chowringhee lane, Mirch Masala, Utsav, Newton and others defined a new paradigm by engaging the audience. Now we no longer have the term art films, but we have a parallel cinema of a different order. Cinema with empathises on experimentation, sequels and bold differential storylines.

Are We Seeing Birth Of BrandOperate Films?

In the advertising world, there have been classical corporate films and brand films. Such communication is all about corporate glory. No one expects them to make the consumer react and positively impact revenue. Their life is short and audience interest still shorter.

On the other hand, we have the celebrated 30 second Brand TVC. Its purpose to exist is action in the market. Some brand like Tata Steel, Tata Tea, Ambuja Cement, Hamara Bajaj, Maruti were successful in bridging the gap to some extent.

Come FEVICOL, maybe the first real example of a BrandOperate Film. It has all the ingredient of a corporate film, including the occasion and subtle message and the power to engage the audience.

What Makes Fevicol’s BrandOperate Communication Work?

Here the client thoroughly trusts the agency. They have a DNA of experimentation. They understand that the team consistency, along with adherence to the brand tonality and a clear benefit/purpose/role/focus is a must for engaging the audience and strengthen the brand. Remember the old ads of illogical examples having a foundation in real-life understanding. Fevicol took you places. You met the fisherman, an overcrowded bus, Boatman, a Mooch that gets stuck through generation, an egg that does not break and many more. These films stayed with well-defined film and brand grammar. Even in this 60th-year communication, the graph moves through locale, type of houses, people and growing affluence, as the colour pallet kept moving with the time.

The team and client must be complemented in their belief and eye for detail, not that we expected any less from the team at Fevicol, Piyush Pandey, Prasoon Pandey and the name Ogilvy.

Learning From Fevicol BrandOperate Communication.

It does prove that no commercial is long if its story engages the consumer.  A  brand with a focussed, engaging and involving story, does not need a celebrity to push its cause. A brand with a focussed idea that has been delivering on its promise and it has evolved with the time, adapted to the desired changes in the brand ecosystem, for such brands it does not matter if the brand name, logo or product shot is a dominant part of the communication. It develops Positive Immunity.  Similar thoughts were expressed by Anant Rangaswami in his article ‘Five Reasons Why The New Fevicol Commercial Sucks’.

Possibilities

I believe, brands like AajTak, Amul, TataSteel, Bajaj, Mahindra, Makemytrip, Stayfree can attempt such BrandOperate communication successfully.

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Here are some other Fevicol films for watching again.

BLOG/48/2019

The post Fevicol – the art of consistent Brand grammar. appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

IRSwala aaya, IRSwala aaya, IRSwala aaya re,

The latest round of IRS report is out. The reported readership figures have given soulless Print Rudalies a chance to cry in mourning or smartly find ways to celebrate minor victories.

The comparative game has begun. Every one is flogging the tired horse. The fight to sliced the data continues. Everyone wishing for that I somewhat relevant claim which can help them fight the festive season battle. And there will be some lazy advertising these claims. The biggest game in print is on.

It reminds me of the KABULIWALA poem that one has read and sung many times. A bit of a twist and a tweak somewhere and the bhands in newspaper title get to sing a new IRS song.

IRSwala, IRSwala, IRSwala,
English Newspaper kyun kumhlaya tera mukhda pyara
Hindi Paper kyun kumhlaya tera mukhda pyara
Kya khoyi hai Readership teri ya kisi ne circulation me mara,
Roonth gaya kya tera reader, toot gaya kya hawker,
Roonth gaya kyat tera reader, toot gaya kya hawker,
Ya phir tujhse bichhad gaya tera koyi advertiser,
IRSwala ha ha, kya wo quarterly report wala,
Abhi mila dey tumko use, dekho khel nirala,
Chalo readership ke paar jaha engagement ki hai war,
Kabhi Number 1 boley koi innovative kahani,
Chalo readership ke paar jaha loyalty ki hai war,
Kabhi Number 1 boley koi innovative kahani,
Jaane sabka wo haal, usse sabka hi khayal,
Badi sachchi hai, Readership ki badalti wo syani,

Everyone wants just that slice of data to help claim a share of advertiser wallet. No one is bothered about its relevance. There is no question about how the numbers match? What do the numbers mean? Will they engage the uninterested advertisers and immune media buyers?

Nothing will change!

No one in print media is willing to change. Something inside has broken. The sales team soul is not into the business. Everyone looking at the brightness towards the end of rainbow called digital. Is it time to give up? I am not sure.

There is a strong inertia to change. No one wants to invest in understanding the root cause of the audience behaviour. Everyone has theories which have been strengthened by the multiple nods of heads inside boardroom presentations. Everything is directed towards boosting numbers. It’s different that IRS is a huge (scientific) extrapolation of a robust but limited data. Here is where the print industry has gone wrong. It cannot be start and end of everything good or bad.

They have explanations. They have scapegoats.

The undeniable truth keeps circulating in the corridors of print powerhouses. The enhanced availability, accessibility and affordability of data. The decreasing concentration of audiences.

In all this is lost the voice that calls up spade a spade. It is sprint inability to continue giving a differentiated relevant not necessarily impactful content. Play on its strength of Trust and faith, which itself is under threat. However, there is high inertia in thinking and ideation. No one wants to move and take a call proactively. Everyone wants safety first. The choice of failing and falling is not acceptable to print stalwarts, and that is the reason they are failing their audience.

Nothing will change. IRS report will keep coming out. The changes will stop surprising the inert advertisers, media planners/buyers and the print saviours. We will find the IRSWALA and sing the last part of the song.

Tara rum, tara rum,
Readers se punchhenge hum, kyu roota hai who
Tara rum, tara rum,
Advertiser se punchhenge hum, Kyu badti TV digital se uski doosti.
Pal pal chhin chhin kum hota jaye,
Social linkage tode jaye

Pal pal chhin chhin involvement kum hota jaye,
change ke pankh lagaye,
TV jhoome Digital ghoome, har dam chakkar chalta jaye,
TV jhoome Digital ghoome, har dam chakkar chalta jaye,
Pal pal chhin chhin reader segment jaye,
samay hawa ke pankh lagaye,

IRSwala aaya, IRSwala aaya, IRSwala aaya,

BLOG/47/2019

The post PRINT Kabuliwala- IRS-wala Aaya re! appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.

It is the festival and marriage season. And gold is crossing all known limits. It’s also Tanishq time.

It is natural for the middle-income household to be doubting purity and buyback values of their gold that they are buying, exchanging, repairing or melting.

Karat meters are working overtime across more than 280 Tanishq showroom across the nation are busy shaping dreams.

Diamonds after Nirav Modi are failing to find favour among jewellery buyers. But at Tanishq, it’s a bit different. There is trust which gets amplified with the 100% buyback on them at current prices. Diamond start getting a new sparkle.

Photo-by-Ana-Paula-Lima-from-Pexels-445986

TANISHQ HEARTFELT GOLD.

I recently saw these three beautiful films on the Tanishq website. I have not seen them on TV, and not much is spoken about them on social media. Maybe I missed them. They seem to evoke the right emotion and reactions from consumers and people I could check.

What I was interested was in seeing how far does the brand take what it promises on its site. And that took me to the showroom at Borivali and Oberoi Mall in Goregaon.

I was suitably impressed by the near-templatised humanly perfected identical treatment. I can endorse what Tanishq says about their customer service. “We strive to ensure that every employee at Tanishq is welcomed into the folds of our protective family with their best interest being one of our main concerns. Our Karigars are provided with world-class facilities, a safe and supportive environment and are well taken care of with benefits like health care and financial aid. With the advancement of jewellery making equipment and technology, our workers also gain training and access to these top-of-the-line machines to aid in the creation process of their masterpieces.”

TANISHQ JEWELLERY MAKING CHARGES.

Tanishq has become a benchmark of purity and customer service in gold jewellery. People, after experiencing carat deviation between claimed and actual on their old jewellery, have shifted. They are now willing to pay a premium on making charges once they are assured of the purity and carat of the gold they are buying. Though Tanishq talks of every jewellery piece being crafted to give it a signature finish and the availability of a wide range of gold Jewellery where the making charge start at 8% only. Now, this is the standard ploy; you hardly find much jewellery at 8% making charges. Mostly it is around 18-20%. Maybe a Tata brand could be a bit more transparent than starting at 8% gimmick.

PUSHING THE PURCHASE VALUE.

The team of salesperson take good care and keeps you engaged. It is their role to push the value of the purchase. Hence if you say you want a piece of jewellery costing Rs 1  lakh, they will show something starting at 1.5 lakh. This strains customers from the middle-income household who walk in after doing their complete maths.

The customers find themselves constrained in the ambience of the showroom. They feel hesitant voicing their concern. Their body language closes out. There would be a feeling and a question if they were better at the family jeweller.

The joy of buying gets threatened. Maybe it is nice to show 1.5 lakh but please show then the lakh piece too.

THE KARAT METER MAGIC AND ISSUES.

The state-of-the-art Karatmeter present in every Tanishq store is a very accurate way of measuring the purity of Gold. I have personally experienced the trust it evokes and has seen it tilt discussion in favour of Tanishq.

THE MELT BEFORE YOUR EYES MAGIC.

When a customer brings old gold for exchange at Tanishq, he or she sees the old gold melt in front of their eyes. The pre-and-post melt weighing is done right in front of you. The result, the weight and the karat reading are always right.

FOR THE MATHEMATICAL CHALLENGED CUSTOMER.

Here is what I witnessed at one of the Tanishq showrooms. The Tanishq team takes the pain to explain to mathematically inclined jewellery exchange couple how a 40 gram 23-Karat and a 10 gram 20-Karat gold after melting can become 50 gram of 18.3-Karat. They are convinced only when another customer who is watching the argument and steps in to explain. It is all about soldering – tanka in the old jewellery.

The couple understands and compliments, saying they have got their old jewellery checked in two towns across three Tanishq showroom getting precisely the same reading. Maybe some amount of pre-explanation is required.

THE GOLD HARVEST SCHEME.

You should see how the salesman, while selling a small piece, is busy upselling dreams. He is pushing the Gold Harvest Scheme. Where one can accumulate money over a period of time and at the end of the period, buy the jewellery they want. With the Tata brand, the security of money is guaranteed. I would presume Tanishq showroom at least the one I visited on that particular day was showing a minimum of 50% GHS subscription.

BIG HEARTED RELATIONSHIP.

Tanishq is taking personalisation and emotional touch to a new level. When you unsubscribe to their mail, what you read before you say click is so endearing. “We’d be terribly sad if we can’t send you emails any more. But if you’ve had enough, with a heavy heart, we say this. Click here to unsubscribe.”

This service standard is apparent across Tanishq, Zoya, Mia, Caratline, Helios World Of Titan, Fastrack, Titan eye plus Skinn. It is how the complete brand trust is retained and strengthened.

TANISHQ, BEYOND GOLD AND SELLING.

It feels good to know some more facts about Tanishq sincerity. So, what if my source is just its website. I will trust the brand to tell me the truth.

• Over 70% of the water used in manufacturing is recycled.
• 30% of the energy used in manufacturing is renewable.
• 40% of the Gold used comes from recycled sources.
• The Titan Kanya Initiative helping educate more than 34,000 girls.

It’s a Tata brand- is there anything more to say.

BLOG/49/2019.

The post Tanishq – Beyond 24 Karat Gold appeared first on Sanjeev Kotnala.