This one is short and sweet and only for the privileged few who can and have connected to the opposite sex in just 5 mins. more than once...
It weird that we meet so many people, some of them seem to just have a connect with us. We end up meeting them through a friend, on a journey, anywhere!! We start talking to them..and we fall into the beauty of this conversation, we fall in love with the way they do things..the way they speak.and what they speak..for different reasons we see in them a hope ..a hope of love..of fulfillment..n a lot more..
Like any other evening, it also comes to an end. curtains draw close and in our love for holding onto whatever we have got..we ask for their number. We get it..and we couldn't have been happier or ....fooler.
what is going to happen is common trajectory which can take either of the three paths..one of which is stupid, one can be termed "mistake" ..third according to me is suicidal.
Trajectory 1: We realize their or our growing dis-interest and dreams comes crashing down. Hopes squashed forever. stupidity.
Trajectory 2: Growing Interest, An affair, few months ..you realize the hope they promised was a mirage. Hope takes a bitter turn..you suffer. break up. mistake!
Trajectory 3: Growing Interest. Affair. Growing Dependence. Life Time Commitment (call it marriage, if u must). the deviation from hope is either acceptable to you or you have increased your tolerance level substantially. Hope becomes faith, a forward lookin concept provides you solace only when you look back at the years spent by. Any chance of more hope, better hope or a forward looking hope turned to NIL. Suicidal!!
My advice...don't take that number..resist it..take the risk...you will have a life full of hope and surprise (you never know when again you meet them) and you will have a lot many more hopes..with the possibilities of more hope in your life.
AVOID THE NUMBER, KEEP ALIVE HOPE!!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Media finding it difficult to break the clutter??
Hi,
Media was a channel or a medium which certain eccentric people who wanted to tell the world their opinion used or advertisers who wanted to make you spend and buy their product used. It was a hunky-dory 1990's as strong players emerged and strengthened their position.
Cometh 21st century and era of 8+% GDP growth and most industries were witnessing double digit growth as well competition from MNCs, local start ups. Thus, you had a growing industry with new entrants mushrooming every week.
What happens in such a situation?? The incumbent ups it Advertising and Promotion Budget to defend its turf, and new comers have to invest in communication to establish their brands. All in All, Media never had it so good. With Growth of media being seen at more than 20% CAGR for years to come, many new players emerged, and the existing ones started to use their muscle to expand their portfolio.
Media mushroomed, both mass markets or niche markets saw an entry of more players than the addition to population of India ( at least it appears so). It was like every new child in India brought with itself a new channel, magazine, website, OOH or something. International Players finally decided to enter from HOT magazines, to news channels. Indian Media Entrepreneurs also became a new set to be revered as more and more aam junta began to work for the oh-so glamorous media.
Result - Nobody holds ground effectively today. Everybody is under threat and few dominant player like TOI and Star are under threat from competition which is entering right into its arena as well as flanking it from all sides. TRPs, GRPs, READERSHIP etc. all of have fallen but the media rates have risen. Because while 15% was an easy task decade back, even 5 today is revered by everyone. Of course, you can forget the good old days when TRPs of top 10 shows touched 40-70. Now we talk in points, 0.9 and 1 are seen as respectable numbers and it takes helluva lot to reach there.
Result - a mirage of media growth. Media is consuming itself and fueling its own growth and not so much the outside world. Take a drive down South Mumbai and count no. of hoardings of 9X, Pannchvi Pass, IPL (SET MAX), Women Magazines..etc and contrast it with messages of non-media brands. You will find, empirically, that media outweighs non-media. This is about OOH, go to certain channel called MTV and all they run all day long is either roadies or a promo of it (of course, monotony is broken by nikhil doing select..since the time i got cable in my house..yawn). Star is no behind with the amount it promotes its own shows on its own channel consuming precious FCT. Media is becoming an increasing vehicle of each other and together as one unit can compete with traditional high spending sectors like FMCG, Telecom, Financial services etc.
Its fun to see them eat their own cake and very messily too...!! What this article concludes is beyond me..but it certainly is a striking observation..(so much for being mod....watever..)...
Anyways..oh..anyway..(somebody taught me).. alls good which ends with a thought.
Media was a channel or a medium which certain eccentric people who wanted to tell the world their opinion used or advertisers who wanted to make you spend and buy their product used. It was a hunky-dory 1990's as strong players emerged and strengthened their position.
Cometh 21st century and era of 8+% GDP growth and most industries were witnessing double digit growth as well competition from MNCs, local start ups. Thus, you had a growing industry with new entrants mushrooming every week.
What happens in such a situation?? The incumbent ups it Advertising and Promotion Budget to defend its turf, and new comers have to invest in communication to establish their brands. All in All, Media never had it so good. With Growth of media being seen at more than 20% CAGR for years to come, many new players emerged, and the existing ones started to use their muscle to expand their portfolio.
Media mushroomed, both mass markets or niche markets saw an entry of more players than the addition to population of India ( at least it appears so). It was like every new child in India brought with itself a new channel, magazine, website, OOH or something. International Players finally decided to enter from HOT magazines, to news channels. Indian Media Entrepreneurs also became a new set to be revered as more and more aam junta began to work for the oh-so glamorous media.
Result - Nobody holds ground effectively today. Everybody is under threat and few dominant player like TOI and Star are under threat from competition which is entering right into its arena as well as flanking it from all sides. TRPs, GRPs, READERSHIP etc. all of have fallen but the media rates have risen. Because while 15% was an easy task decade back, even 5 today is revered by everyone. Of course, you can forget the good old days when TRPs of top 10 shows touched 40-70. Now we talk in points, 0.9 and 1 are seen as respectable numbers and it takes helluva lot to reach there.
Result - a mirage of media growth. Media is consuming itself and fueling its own growth and not so much the outside world. Take a drive down South Mumbai and count no. of hoardings of 9X, Pannchvi Pass, IPL (SET MAX), Women Magazines..etc and contrast it with messages of non-media brands. You will find, empirically, that media outweighs non-media. This is about OOH, go to certain channel called MTV and all they run all day long is either roadies or a promo of it (of course, monotony is broken by nikhil doing select..since the time i got cable in my house..yawn). Star is no behind with the amount it promotes its own shows on its own channel consuming precious FCT. Media is becoming an increasing vehicle of each other and together as one unit can compete with traditional high spending sectors like FMCG, Telecom, Financial services etc.
Its fun to see them eat their own cake and very messily too...!! What this article concludes is beyond me..but it certainly is a striking observation..(so much for being mod....watever..)...
Anyways..oh..anyway..(somebody taught me).. alls good which ends with a thought.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Qoutable Quotes 2020
Success is 10% talent and 90% craziness - Rishabh, 2008
People waste too much time dreaming about success, I wish they dream about the struggle - Rishabh, 2006
Life can be set of choice where you always are in a "either" "or" mode or you can think a little hard to live an "and" life - Rishabh, 2007
Don't fret, just sweat - Rishabh, 2008
Success is when self obsession becomes a passion - Rishabh, 2008
Advertising is an exaggerating machine which shapes aspirations and motivating you to be the exaggeration, thus stretching the human potential forever. In short, its the greatest social service - motivating an entire generation to outperform. - Rishabh, 2007
Low price does not mean "cheap" - Rishabh, 2007
A great marketing product is one which favorably redefines the price - performance tiers - Rishabh, 2008
Mass Premium is a phenomenon which can unlock emerging markets - Rishabh, 2007
(Mass Premium a word coined by the author - to be discussed in May 2008)
Risk avoidance is a fashion constant of the middle class - Rishabh, 2008
Unmotivated people is a reality a motivated child should learn to accept for his own sanity - Rishabh, 2006
Success, obviously depends on the color of your underwear or why else do you think inner-confidence is the hailed as a secret of success - Rishabh, 2004
I don't love animals, we are superior - Rishabh, 1998
Milkshakes and Birthdaycakes make the sweetest memories - Rishabh, 2007
People waste too much time dreaming about success, I wish they dream about the struggle - Rishabh, 2006
Life can be set of choice where you always are in a "either" "or" mode or you can think a little hard to live an "and" life - Rishabh, 2007
Don't fret, just sweat - Rishabh, 2008
Success is when self obsession becomes a passion - Rishabh, 2008
Advertising is an exaggerating machine which shapes aspirations and motivating you to be the exaggeration, thus stretching the human potential forever. In short, its the greatest social service - motivating an entire generation to outperform. - Rishabh, 2007
Low price does not mean "cheap" - Rishabh, 2007
A great marketing product is one which favorably redefines the price - performance tiers - Rishabh, 2008
Mass Premium is a phenomenon which can unlock emerging markets - Rishabh, 2007
(Mass Premium a word coined by the author - to be discussed in May 2008)
Risk avoidance is a fashion constant of the middle class - Rishabh, 2008
Unmotivated people is a reality a motivated child should learn to accept for his own sanity - Rishabh, 2006
Success, obviously depends on the color of your underwear or why else do you think inner-confidence is the hailed as a secret of success - Rishabh, 2004
I don't love animals, we are superior - Rishabh, 1998
Milkshakes and Birthdaycakes make the sweetest memories - Rishabh, 2007
Friday, April 18, 2008
Celeb advertising: Wats the sense in it??
MINDSHARE...MINDSHARE..MORE MINDSHARE...
These words are not alien to the discussion as this is the root of all branding..a certain space in mind with certain associations and pre-dispositions. We want it from our target segment – audience and want it more than our competitors with favorable dispositions of course.
Having understood this..let us move ahead to the topic of Celebrity Endorsements. Pepsi canned Beyoncé Knowles and Britney Spears, as they did not increase sales. Chrysler removed Celine Dion, again the same problem. There are many more such example, which some people have already quoted or surely will quote in their coming speeches. Now, this whole example quoting business is futile as the causes mostly lie somewhere else, In pepsi’s case it was bad message which they quickly changed in their next campaign. Chrysler was a case of thinking just having a celebrity would increase sales – what a logical fallacy. But blaming celebrity endorsement would be similar to blaming “entrepreneurship” and commenting that 95% fail. The reason they do so is because of poor business acumen or jumping into it without thinking and not because of being an entrepreneur. Thus, celeb endorsements gone awry is no more than a case of ineffective communication management and not something wrong with the concept of Celeb Endorsement.
Celebs do not work is another strong point of argument and an opportunity to throw in some examples for most teams. I would just like to counter question them – Do all ads without Celebrities work?? …A no Brainer.
But Ofcouse, your question still remains – DO WE NEED THEM AT ALL? Amul worked without celebs, Fevicol Brand worked without Celebs. I agree…if the debate topic was “Brands can work even without celebrities…I would completely and with all my heart and soul agree.” Unfortunately, it is not so. And we do need them is my stand which I would go deeper into in a while.
Another argument I love is that there is Clutter in celebrity space. First there was clutter in direct mailers being sent way back in 1960’s, then a clutter in Radio, then TV..then a clutter in Celebrities. Each time they see a space crowding up, they shout “CLUTTER!! CLUTTER!!” As if they are shouting “EUREKA!!EUREKA!!”. Now Direct mailers still work..Dominos is an example in case..remember the last time you ordered it because that flier was lying somewhere in your house, Radio is supposed to be going through a boom and is a method to avoid clutter now, and TV ad rates seems to be going up and up..touching as high as Rs.5 lakh for a 30 sec spot during matches. Clutter didn’t deter them..my argument is it won’t Deter Celebrity Endorsements. But obviously using Celebrities needs to be done a lot more thoughtfully. Just as ads are made much more thoughtfully today than just making weird jingles in an uncluttered space in the Ramayana Days of Dordarshan. To give an example According to Pooja Jain, Director, Luxor Writing Instruments Ltd (LWIL), post Amitabh Bachchan – the most cluttered of them all, Parker's sales have increased by about 30 per cent
And before I move back to where I started..Mindshares..my personal favorite …”Less focus on content”. Its like saying don’t get a beautiful wife..coz u will focus less on content..Uhmm..(Breath Heavy)..Interesting!!. The point is simple..content has to be focused and such excuses are ridiculous at their best.
Now going back to where I started: that if brands want mindshare and associations. What is the simplest way to do it? Grant McCracken’s “Meaning Transfer Theory” clearly states how consumers transfer associations from two closely linked objects. In effect, this leads to the theory of association which is essence of branding and is so logical and basic that refuting it would be a crime. Just think what associations transfers from John Abraham to Fastrack, or Hrithik Roshan to Tamarind, or through a series of bollywood queens to LUX.
Since associations transfer… be careful while choosing a celebrity
Use the FRED Model: F for Familiarity (target market is aware of him, finds him friendly, likeable and trustworthy); Relevance (which says that there should be a link between the endorser and the product as well between the endorser and the audience); Esteem (the polio endorsement, for example, is successful as the masses see him as a credible name-face-voice); Differentiation (in all his projections, he is seen to be one among the masses, and yet he towers above them. He is different His appeal is universal, lesser mortals merely cater to specific niches… )
Thus, it is a tedious exercise of chosing the right celebrity rather than a pure-glam task one of showing them off on TV or Print or any other medium.
I have maintained that management is about reducing probabilities of failure rather than a course on how to succeed – thus a risk reduction exercise which is also capable of giving excellent returns. Celebrity Endorsements are much the same and should be seen in the same light. By putting a sachin I reduce my probability of being unnoticed, I can get away with a little poor content, and an ad if successfully done can earn me bucks. Thus, it is an exercise of Risk Mitigation.
Having a celebrity sometimes also leads to lower ad spends than contrary belief that they hike ad spends. It’s a known fact that two biggest components of ad spends would be: Media Spot Buying and Celebrity Payments ..in that order. Now having a celebrity increases my chance to be noticed, works well for my recallibility allowing me to air fewer ads which cost me 50,000 to 5 lakhs per spot and thus save substantially. For example when S. Kumar's used Hrithik Roshan for their launch advertising for Tamarind, they reckoned they spent 40 - 50 per cent less on media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik.
Signalling Effect is something we all have heard of. What do you think when SRK or Hrithik or Aamir comes for an ad … well…one thought process is that the company can afford them..which implies they are big..which normally in B2C environment is also equivalent to quality and therefore a value proposition. Now these linkages are easily formed in consumers mind, ITC sunfeast used SRK for same, Hyundai Santro used SRK for same and in the above case Tamarind used hrithik for same. It can even change stock markets valuation, both at dalal street and Wall Street. Home Trade is a desi case in example and going across to USA, when rumors of Michael Jordan returning to NBA in 1995, he was endorsing products of General Mills (Wheaties), Mc'Donalds (Quarter Pounders, Value Meals), Nike (Air Jordan), Quaker Oats (Gatorade) and Sara Lee (Hans Underwear). Study conducted by Mathur et al.14 associated with Jordan's endorsements shows that the anticipation of Jordan's return to NBA, and the related increased visibility for him resulted in increase in the market adjusted values of his client firms of almost 2 percent, or more than $1 bn in stock market value
Obviously certain situations and products are more amenable to Celebrity Endorsement than others. Product launche- in order to benefit from their familiarity with TG, Social Awareness Programs- to add glamour and make people interested in otherwise drab programs, Firefighting Situations – add credibility in firefighting situations like Amitabh in worm case for Cadbury , Aamir in Pesticide Case for Coke. What I am trying to say is ..CELEBRITY ENDORSMENT is A SERIOUS BUSINESS WITH A DEFINITE VALUE PROPOSITION but when used with thought and skill.
On an ending note on ..my take on Celebrity Advertising---à Yehi Hai right Choice baby ..Ah ha!!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
First Crush..The first stupidly cute memory!!
Hi Reader,
I plan to do this regularly and more often now....Yeah i mean blogging...Wat Else ??
I plan to do this regularly and more often now....Yeah i mean blogging...Wat Else ??
Anyway, remember when you were 6( if you are a boy) and 9 (if you are a girl) and X( if u neither), when you first looked at the opposite sex (or the same..err...i am a 21st century unbiased writer) and felt how beautiful they looked, and how much you would love to be next to them. How you imagined your princess who you would protect with all the guts..or your prince who you would love till the world dies. How you would excel at sports or beat up other boys to be the macho man truly deserving of her attention and eyes ( if u were a nerd..sorrie..ur dream would look something like topping the class and creating a new equivalent to internal combustion engine for her..n with such dreams i m sure u haven't gotten beyond!!!)
How one's best time of the day is when they are silently dreaming about the other person, admiring the way their hair falls on their forehead or their atypical way of doing things..and sometimes even what they eat..and how lovely her mom cooks....
How lovely is to see them dress up and play in the park..or their giggly laughter..how their recognition of us..would make our chest swell like a victorious warrior..and give us a smile that any nut in the world can say goes beyond our ears..n thus puring our hearts out..
How we would do anything to see them smile..and love to yap to them till evening even if it meant scolding at home..
and even if we never got to know them..coz they were our seniors..or in other section..we dreamt all these things anyway..
And then you realize they don't look at you like that..or they like someone else...n soon enough in your early teens..they hook up with someone else..CRUSHED!!!..gone..flowers wilt...rains pour, slow songs seem nice..food doesn't taste good..and life seems meaningless...
Have you ever gone through this syndrome..the infatuation rejection syndrome..or the first crushed crush syndrome..
Did u cry...felt meaningless...USELESS...felt unworthy of the entire opposite sex..and felt you won't get someone as good as him/her...have u been through looking at your crying eyes in the mirror..slept on a wet pillow..felt heavy in the heart...did u believe life would be cool again n u wud read this n be laughing n nodding at the same time..
As you probably grew up ur teens into your late teens ..you would look back and laugh at the silliness of your sissiness..you would sit across probably the same bunch of friends you hid these feelings from and laugh at how stupid you were..
You would realize how beautiful u now look..how confident of your body n self..n how the past seems so irreverent...
I m just tryin to put across a simple fact of life:
With heartbreaks will come tears..but while you cry that within a few months or years..you wud be a smarter ..more good looking person laughing at your own self..and when you will be all this better person you would love your single hood and thank your stars you didn't get sucked by that crush or relationship and instead learned ..improved..n became the present YOU.
YOU are beautiful with every passing moment, and thus you keep deserving better every passing moment...so love your heartbreaks.coz they lead you to the single YOU of tomorrow which in advertisers word is "NEW" "IMPROVED" "BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE"..
Crush your Crushes,!!!
P.s.: do leave a note on how you felt after reading this..n how i can improve...love..Rishabh.
How one's best time of the day is when they are silently dreaming about the other person, admiring the way their hair falls on their forehead or their atypical way of doing things..and sometimes even what they eat..and how lovely her mom cooks....
How lovely is to see them dress up and play in the park..or their giggly laughter..how their recognition of us..would make our chest swell like a victorious warrior..and give us a smile that any nut in the world can say goes beyond our ears..n thus puring our hearts out..
How we would do anything to see them smile..and love to yap to them till evening even if it meant scolding at home..
and even if we never got to know them..coz they were our seniors..or in other section..we dreamt all these things anyway..
And then you realize they don't look at you like that..or they like someone else...n soon enough in your early teens..they hook up with someone else..CRUSHED!!!..gone..flowers wilt...rains pour, slow songs seem nice..food doesn't taste good..and life seems meaningless...
Have you ever gone through this syndrome..the infatuation rejection syndrome..or the first crushed crush syndrome..
Did u cry...felt meaningless...USELESS...felt unworthy of the entire opposite sex..and felt you won't get someone as good as him/her...have u been through looking at your crying eyes in the mirror..slept on a wet pillow..felt heavy in the heart...did u believe life would be cool again n u wud read this n be laughing n nodding at the same time..
As you probably grew up ur teens into your late teens ..you would look back and laugh at the silliness of your sissiness..you would sit across probably the same bunch of friends you hid these feelings from and laugh at how stupid you were..
You would realize how beautiful u now look..how confident of your body n self..n how the past seems so irreverent...
I m just tryin to put across a simple fact of life:
With heartbreaks will come tears..but while you cry that within a few months or years..you wud be a smarter ..more good looking person laughing at your own self..and when you will be all this better person you would love your single hood and thank your stars you didn't get sucked by that crush or relationship and instead learned ..improved..n became the present YOU.
YOU are beautiful with every passing moment, and thus you keep deserving better every passing moment...so love your heartbreaks.coz they lead you to the single YOU of tomorrow which in advertisers word is "NEW" "IMPROVED" "BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE"..
Crush your Crushes,!!!
P.s.: do leave a note on how you felt after reading this..n how i can improve...love..Rishabh.
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