Dear MxM by Jaisurya Das: Trump of Evil over Good + Are salary levels in media really that bad?

By Jaisurya Das

 

And overnight ‘two of the world’s largest democracies turned black to white’. Ladies and Gentleman, Welcome to this ‘Newsy Edition’ of Dear MxM, India’s numero uno online counselling forum!

Last morning, the world witnessed a twisted replay of the legend of the Ramayana with the ‘Trump of Evil over Good’ . The blue collar of America has won. Yes, America will be great again. Congratulations, Donald Trump!

I must confess that unlike the global online community, my understanding of US politics is exceedingly nascent and hence getting into the micros of this victory is being deliberately avoided. I do know however that the #presidential elections are a good reflection of the IQ of the average US#citizen.

Having said that, it would be interesting to see how he takes his much proclaimed affection for the #Hindu would be put to work. ‘The #Hindu’ people know their job and even better now, with a no-holds barred #PM

hence its almost certain that we will forge strong ties with the man in the hot seat, Trump.

His proximity to India (evidently overplayed during his campaign ) will sound much like the death knell for our increasingly friendly neighbour who ought to get their onions right by now..

For now, I shall sit on the fence and watch the theatrics of #Trumpetisation and #Demonetisation unfold.

Long live. the Republic!

 

Our readers this week have been overawed by Donald Trump as is evident

from these questions from Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Lucknow..

 

So Donald Trump has won. And the media and all the influentials got it wrong. It’s happened in the past several times in India too. Do you think the news media doesn’t have its ears to the ground?

But of course it does; it has it ears, mouth and skin to the ground day after day, however increasingly public sentiment has scored over editorial analysis. Much akin to the infotainment emphasis over news in Indian print media.

A few senior journalists and political columnists did predict Trump’s victory but yet again, their work wasn’t populated en masse. As I see it, media in our country is now greatly dependent on what is trending more than relevant. It’s the easiest after all to work a story around vox and toe the line.

Gone are the days when solid research and ground work went into a story and journalists took pride in their work. Today, a majority of journos ( media houses included ) want to get over the task more than anything else. How does it matter, they ask? In any case readers get everything on their mobiles!

It’s not about predictions here, it’s about the attitude here. Adapting to what is changing is critical but do it emphatically and not just to put a story up there..

 

My second question on the Trump victory. I read a comment by a very senior advertising professional that opinion/market research can’t be taken seriously. I am studying marketing research, and I am worried.

Thanks for writing in my friend. Let me assure you that there is absolutely no need to worry. Market research is an interesting area of work and the world at large will increasingly rely on research to provide inputs for their strategies in the marketplace.

It’s greatly market-driven as more people demand justification for every little thing. There is little doubt that good ol gut is rarely used now. Some of us rely on that heavily and fortunately it has rarely failed.

Market research is finally about sample size an extrapolation of figures and hence findings can never be 100% conclusive though much like an exit poll it does give trends, Indian voters notwithstanding:)

The only unfortunate eventuality of all this is the erosion of marketing acumen in the process of relying entirely on data. Strategies and tactics play second fiddle to data, unlike the earlier days when marketers used gut and then painstakingly worked to prove it right. We ended up with better brands and winning strategies. But no escape route.

Today, the life jacket plays a more important part. Keep it handy, you may just need to bail out. Research is that life jacket in most cases.

 

Sir, I am a regular reader of Dear MxM. Why is it that there is so much of unhappiness on salary levels in the media. I see a question on that in almost every fifth week. Is it really that bad? My little sister has just got into advertising, hence the question.

Not again! At the risk of sounding like a stuck vinyl, I must emphatically declare that media salaries aren’t bad. In fact they are better than a lot of other industries.

Given the advertising slowdown, media salaries are fair and in fact amount to a significant portion of the direct variable costs of the media house. While the dissatisfaction on salaries is a common grouse given human behaviour, in reality it isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be.

Yes there is scope for improvement, but revenues need to grow too. Margins are drastically lower and input costs higher by the day. After all media is a business just like any other and it would be unfair to expect media owners to

run the business on wafer thin margins.

I don’t see any reason to worry. Your sister must just focus on picking up the fine nuances of the industry and am sure she will do well. All good wishes to her.

 

I am moving from one news channel to another, in another city and in an all-new domain. Sorry for being vague about it, but what would you advise I should do before joining?

Simple advice: Just chill!

Why this apprehension. You aren’t on some random space mission.

This is just another city my friend. If this job doesn’t work, you can always find a new one there or just get back to Chennai.

Concern at this stage is uncalled for and it will only result in negativity when you finally get there. Hold your head high, move and walk in to your new job with confidence and elan. All the rest will follow.

Just remember that every new city, every new environment has its own charm and it’s important to recognise that and move on. Look for that positive ray much like the morning sun and bask in it.

All good wishes to you!

 

Having said that, it’s time I sign off for this highly charged week and place myself securely in an ATM queue to get the much needed 400 or multiples thereof !

So while I battle the machine and irate queue mates, enjoy yourselves to the hilt and celebrate the new white economy! Keep writing in too in the midst of the madness on editor@mxmindia.com mentioning ‘ Your City’

and ‘Dear MxM’ in the subject line…

Till the next week then, Sayonara and God Bless.

 

Jaisurya Das, maverick and media evangelist, eats, sleeps and makes love to brands. His consulting interventions are aimed at making brands powerful and sustainable. He is also Contributing Editor of MxM India and Co-Founder of pune365.com. For more on his work visit www.xanadu.co.in. The views expressed in this column are his own.