Green Tea and Chocolate

Relocation

There is a lot of anxiety when one moves. My roots have been in Bombay for almost two decades. I’m now going to be moving to Delhi for good (or so it seems at the moment). The uprooting is very unsettling. Why is change so… change-y?

Bombay Talking

There are a number of posts on Facebook about this film. A friend of mine showed me the trailer to this film a month ago and since then I’ve been wanting to watch it.

This film is a compilation of four short films made by four directors independently (I’m guessing). Is has been made in the honour of Bollywood completing 100 years of its existence.

It opens with a lovely, typically-Swanand-Kirkire-type-lyric, simple yet catchy song. KJo’s movie (Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Yeh) was first. He’s stuck to what he (supposedly) does best and shown a love story. Moments to watch out for: when the two men kiss on screen and people begin clapping and cheering spontaneously and the opening scene. Saqib Saleem was average. Both Rani Mukherji (who looks amazing) and Randeep Hooda did a wonderful job.

Dibakar Banerjee (Star) was second. Nawazuddin Siddiqui was a joy to watch. Moment to watch out for: last scene.

Zoya Akhtar (Sheila Ki Jawani) was what I had the highest hopes for. Moments to watch out for: last scene and the bond between the siblings. The little boy was superb. The manner in which the film and the director dealt with this issue was really something that the film industry should feel proud of.

Anurag Kashyap (Murabba) was what added the element of humour to the film. It was a funny yet strangely poignant story. Moment to watch out for: when the father talks to the son for the second time.

I have never seen any Indian movie deal with SO many issues so sensitively. Granted that there were problems with the film, like there are with almost every film (most issues arising, personally, from the KJo film), it still did a much better job than a lot of other films combined.

Go watch this movie. I’ve never been this mind blown by anything that has graced the Indian screen. A worthy 100th anniversary special. Well done!

Major Farah Khan-Om Shanti Om type thing happening at the end. Overdone. The video clips of the old songs were quite entertaining though.

You will go home and think about what you saw. Irrespective of whether you liked the movie or not. So many steps in the right direction. So proud.

Why Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” Video Makes Me Uncomfortable… and Kind of Makes Me Angry

Reblogged from jazzylittledrops

Thank the universe for people like jazzylittledrops

jazzylittledrops:

So this video started going around my facebook today, with about a dozen of my female friends sharing the link with comments like, and “Everyone needs to see this”, and “All girls should watch this,” and “This made me cry.” And I’m not trying to shame those girls! I definitely understand why they would do so. And I don’t want to be a killjoy. But as I clicked the link and started watching the video, I started to feel a slight sense of discomfort. I couldn’t put my finger on why that was, exactly, but it continued throughout the whole thing. After watching the video several more times, I have some thoughts… 

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Bang-galore

Got back from Bangalore yesterday. The city is as lovely as it was before. It must be visited again. There is a joy in walking down familiar roads and stumbling upon a landmark in an area one thought one had forgotten. Serendipity FTW!

An Obituary

I felt a sense of disbelief yesterday. I feel a sense of loss today.

May you never have to hunt for food. May the weather always be just right. May your food always have lots of meat. You’re one of the happiest dogs I know. Thank you for showing me the meaning of unbridled enthusiasm.

I shall always love you.

R.I.P Raja

Leaving on a Jetplane

There are many ways one reacts to change, something that becomes evident on a campus such as MICA. I have a few days to go, yet. As my friends, acquaintances and people-I-only-know-by-face-and-have-said-three-sentences-to-in-two-years leave this lovely bubble that we all called home (and hence, cribbed about in the same way), there’s an overdose of tears, hugs, fights and love.

It reminds me of my school play ground. Only, we have become more stubborn now. Will we forget our tiffs and quarrels when we wake up tomorrow? Or is holding a grudge a sign of getting older?

It’s amusing. And heartbreaking.

It’s been such a joy handling the MICA blog. Now that I’ve hung up my boots, I can tumbl around in my own head again.

It’s true. When some things end, we get back to doing what we used to.

I’ll miss my “Tumblr Diaries”

A Disappointment

“Planning for Power Advertising: A User’s Manual for Students and Practitioners” by Anand Bhaskar Halve, is a guide that educates the reader about how to systematically go about advertising so as to get effective and meaningful results based on certain predefined parameters. The blurb at the back of the book begins with a quote, “You may, if you are lucky, get powerful, effective advertising without a sound foundation. But if you really want to gamble, you may as well go to the races.”

 This sets the tone for the book. Overall, it systematically goes through every step that one needs to take into account before, while and after one plans one’s advertising. The chapters are clearly divided without overlapping content and the way they are named indicates unambiguously what the content of the following pages are going to be. This is an added advantage when it comes to referring back to the book since the simplicity invites referencing.

In summary, the book begins by tracing the history of the economic situation in India post liberalization, from 1985 to 1990. An introduction to the emergence of intangible value that brands provide in the context of the USA is given. There are multiple definitions of brand equity, all of which initially had a financial orientation. David A. Aaker changed this definition to give it a customer orientation. He proposed two types of variables that affect brand equity – input (awareness, associations, advertising expenditure etc.) that the brand owner can affect directly and output (loyalty, sales, etc.) that is a result of the efforts of the brand owner. A strong brand has a high Brand Input Multiplier and a low Decay Rate.

Increased fragmentation in the TV industry have led to changes in TRPs and have made advertising on TV less effective as opposed to earlier. It was found that a moving image was far more powerful than print advertising and appealed to a less literate audience as well. It allowed for product usage demonstration, thus allowing ease of usage. This led to market expansion and an increase in manufacturing capacities. The definitions of markets and competition are important since they can widen the horizon of the brand, allowing it to look beyond just the obvious competitors. Price spectrums, changes in product configurations, distribution and technology can help gain a competitive advantage that can support advertising expenses.

Every brand must focus on one differentiating factor or brand driver that gives the maximum benefit for the price it commands. This would include leveraging one’s strengths and not trying to talk about everything. Target segments, a product feature, pricing and distribution can be potential brand drivers. Since technology and resources are dynamic, finding a brand driver that cannot be copied is beneficial for the brand in the long run since it will occupy a unique area in the consumer’s mind for a longer period of time.

For current users of the brand, refining positioning, focusing on heavy users, encouraging multiple usages and effective targeting can be ways and means of increasing brand consumption. For current users, finding new applications of the product and offering product line extensions can help expand the market and hence increase sales. For non users of the category, geographic expansion, generic marketing to new segments and domestic-to-institutional shift (or vice versa) can be strategies employed. Repositioning the brand may also be an option.

There can be various parameters to segment an audience. Whether it is done based on demographics or psychographics, members of the target group must be similar and definitions or segments must discriminate so as to provide heterogeneity outside of the target group. Consumers can also be segmented based on need benefits, usage practices and beliefs and attitudes.

No matter whatever the brand, it needs to give consumers a reason for them to pick it up as opposed to all the others on display. Creating a need for the product category, positioning the brand as offering something concretely different, getting past the natural scepticism of the consumer, changing beliefs, creating a perception of value for money and generating word of mouth are different methods that can be used to give the audience a reason to buy. The fact that even though the target audience may be specific, the consumer plays many roles in their lives must be remembered.

When a particular brand communicates something about oneself, consumers are more likely to be loyal to the brand. There are four levels to this brand revelation – “Does what it is supposed to do”, “Personal satisfaction”, “Affects how others see me” and “This is me”. Product differentiation can be achieved by focusing on designs and formulation, raw materials and procurement, production process and performance characteristics and packaging. Effectiveness of the change can be measured by by talking to consumers or using the product oneself. The brand proposition needs to be a combination of the motivator and differentiator of the brand, giving consumers a reason to buy.

Brand identity is what the marketer wants the consumers to know about the brand and brand image is what the consumers perceive of the brand. Simple ideas are recalled easily. Axes that can be used for positioning are product category, target group, usage patterns, price performance and benefit that the brand provides.

Other things need to be taken into consideration while positioning a product or a brand. Positioning inelasticity must be a factor that may limit product or brand extensions. The differentiating factor of a product may also be copied by competitors and may cease to occupy a unique position in the consumers’ mind. Sometimes, due to a lot of competition, positions are forced and do not provide any read differentiation. When categories themselves evolve, some differentiators may become hygiene factors and the brand will have to innovate to maintain some semblance of uniqueness. Brand personification may be a strategy that can be employed to break the clutter, in terms of celebrity endorsements. The personality of the endorser gets imprinted onto the brand and may develop an emotional bond in the minds of the consumers. Archetypes are an easy way of creating instant recall and generate emotional responses, since a lot of people identify with them.

The creative brief is one of the most important parts of the planning process since it is the eventual output that is then given to the creative department in an advertising agency. Markets are dynamic and clear category divisions do not exist anymore. The bases of competitiveness are also undergoing changes as consumers have a wider variety of brands to choose from. Brand culture and values are gaining importance and optimum performance has become a hygiene factor. A creative brief manages to combine all the different aspects that have been explained before into one single document that is crisp and to-the-point, with unambiguous descriptions of the target audience.

There are macro level changes occurring in the industry today. There are a lot more products in the market in terms of brands and product extensions. The importance and value attached to imported labels is much lesser since distributions systems have become better and average standard of living has gone up. The attitudes and definitions of luxury and must-have products have changed. The consumer has a lot more power in their hands now because retention and brand loyalty have become points of concern. Customer service, word of mouth and experiences with a brand have become factors that can induce or reduce brand loyalty. Aspirations and reference groups have undergone a metamorphosis with more emphasis on individuality rather than trying to copy a celebrity or an ideal.

The differentiating factor about this book is the fact that it is so rich with examples. There are illustrations and ad storyboards that help the reader to understand what is being said with greater clarity. After every chapter, there is a little exercise wherein the reader can practice so as to better understand what concepts have been spoken about. This is especially helpful for a working professional since he can analyze his brand completely and holistically through these exercises.

On the other hand, the book is fairly outdated. The advertising industry has changed a lot since this book has been last updated. There is no mention of the digital space or the explosion of social media as a means of two way interaction with the customer. This helps build brand equity and provides a platform to address consumer concerns immediately and effectively, thus enhancing the customer experience with the brand. With digital media becoming more and more commonplace, there are an increased number of touch points wherein the brand can involve and co-create opinions with the consumer. Mobile and permission marketing are becoming more the norm since the consumer is beginning to tune out advertising because of overexposure and clutter. There is no “wow” moment through the entire book as it covers marketing concepts that exist in Kotler from a marginally different perspective, something that can be obtained through other sources as well. There is nothing unique about the book that reveals the insightful nature of its writer and his experience in the advertising world.

Overall, the book is a fairly interesting read with avenues to practically practice the concepts discussed, but it does not differentiate itself in the mind of a reader, something that one would go back to and recommend to other colleagues and students. It is a little too simplistic for its own good. While it is comprehensive, it doesn’t challenge the reader or equip him to think and discover the specific rationale behind a particular advertisement.