MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • To all those heavily paid corporate leaders reading this: There's no point in splurging all those millions on slick advertising campaigns, there's no point in making tall claims in the ads, if you have failed to adequately train and motivate your task force

    Anil Thakraney: Your demotivated, ill-trained staff

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    So, this lady ‘forgot’ to tip the pizza delivery boy. And the dude, not very happy about the gesture, relieved himself right at her doorstep. (Hope you have been obediently tipping all the Diwali baksheesh demanders!) Here’s the link to the story that’s funny when you are not at the receiving end of stinky yellow. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/05/pizza-hut-delivery-man-urinates_n_2078748.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

     

    This incident set me thinking. Can we blame only the pizza delivery boy? To an extent, yes, and this also shows there are enough frustrated taporis all over the world. I actually see a larger problem at play out here, one of the lack of organizational training and motivation. If the pizza delivery boy had been a committed, motivated employee, do you think he would indulge in this or any sort of behaviour that would bring disrepute to his organization? I suspect not.

     

    We may not be getting peed on as customers, but each one of has had horrid experiences of being treated shabbily by staffers of companies we do business with. Mobile phone companies top this chart. The social media is buzzing with tales of incompetent, rude, indifferent representatives. My own list is pretty huge. I have had my share of problems with auto companies, insurance giants, banks, hotels, airlines, you name it. There was a time I would blame the company representatives, but I’ve now realized that particular dude/dudette is only a foot soldier of a badly run organization. No point in losing one’s cool on them. Quite obviously, the boss has not done his/her job, which is to build, run and manage a happy, professional, efficient, driven team.

     

    It is shocking how very little attention is paid to this critical function by many managers, when you consider it is the lower rung employees who are usually the first contact with the customer, and are therefore the face of the organisation. They behave poorly, you assume the entire unit sucks.

     

    To all those heavily paid corporate leaders reading this: There’s no point in splurging all those millions on slick advertising campaigns, there’s no point in making tall claims in the ads, if you have failed to adequately train and motivate your task force. What is the use of all that big investment if your front man ends up peeing at my doorstep? Chew on it, buddy.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Haha. Whites seem to have gone into mourning in America, following Romney’s defeat. Polarization of the US is complete. Not a good sign at all, I say! Check out the angry posts and the gloomy pictures.

    Link: http://whitepeoplemourningromney.tumblr.com/

     

     

  • It's not a tussle that is likely to be resolved soon – but Dipankar Zalpuri rolls up his sleeves in the PR corner

    The Anchor: 5 reasons PR is better than advertising

    By Dipankar Zalpuri

     

    Let me start by quoting George Bernard Shaw who once said, “The problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” That makes it even more important to understand why and how PR/Media Relations is better than Advertising:

     

    #1 Fish Tank Syndrome. When creating a PR pitch, a professional (internal or external to organization) will always do a dip-stick study and gain valuable feedback from prodding the press members. Also, as the story development goes along, media adds value to the brand proposition, if communication is clear and crisp. Advertising usually restricts to highlighting the important aspects of the product/service and thus sounds very promotional. A creative agency and the client usually generate these ideas thus leading to a closed fish tank syndrome

     

    #2 PR is increasingly being seen as being more empathetic to customer need. Consumers know when they’re reading an advertisement they’re trying to be sold a product/service. Consumers/Customers are wise. When someone reads a third-party article written about a product or views coverage of an event on TV, they’re seeing something a client didn’t pay for with ad rupees and thus view it differently than they do paid advertising.

     

    #3 It’s all about the money, honey. Considering the ever looming fear of economic recession, one of the most important points obviously is the cost involved. Where an effective multi-media advertising campaign will cost millions of rupees, PR is a much wiser and in-expensive option.

     

    #4 Longevity & Shelf Life. So if you are paying so much for space, you can run your ads over and over for only as long as your budget allows and in places which fall in your overall budget. Whereas with one press release you can target all publications through PR & Media relations

     

    #5 Advertising helps to maintain a brand, not build it. It helps in the long run. Last but not the least, good PR is a carefully planned, sustained effort to establish your company identity, maintain credibility and promote communications between your company and its public. The public can be cynical. They have lots of advertising messages directed to them on a daily basis. But, when people read media articles, hear or see something about your company in the press, it results in much better credibility and thus is much better for the long run!

     

    Dipankar Zalpuri is Director, YouMe&We Media Services Pvt Ltd

     

  • As for the press coverage, the only thing I enjoyed was the reprint in Mumbai Mirror of Busybee’s super columns on Thackeray. There has not been, and perhaps never will be, a finer chronicler of Mumbai city than Busybee

    Anil Thakraney: Insensitive for channels to call know Thackeray-baiters

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    For the last two days there has been carpet coverage of Mr T’s death, across the media. The poor Chadha brothers. They chose to shoot each other dead on the same day, and no one was interested in their totally sensational action, their story went almost unnoticed. Some random observations on the media coverage of the Sena chief’s death:

     

    I was not very happy with the TV panel discussions on the evening of the demise. On the one hand the same boring politicians were invited, who then belted out the usual clichés. On the other hand, to spice things up, the anchors invited the known Thackeray-baiters. This, I found to be a little insensitive. Criticism of the man and his legacy must begin after the last rites are done, and not as soon as he’s announced dead. Not only is this morally wrong, all the dissing could have led to lumpen elements of the Sena losing their unusual cool. And a number of people in the city, who were still scrambling to their homes, could have come to grief. I think the news channels, in their search for eyeballs, must demonstrate a degree of sensitivity to the already harried aam aadmi.

     

    Glad that the news channel CEOs did not decide to pull the ads as a mark of respect. Though I am certain this must have been discussed in the boardrooms. Doing such a thing over the death of a person who, although very popular, was an extra-constitutional authority, would have been way over the top. Apart from being bad for business, of course.

     

    Some news channel editors seized the moment to replay old Thackeray interviews they had done, and kept reminding us that ‘Balasaheb told me this, he told me that, he opened up to me, etc’. Someone should point out to these worthies that this sort of gloating, especially at the time of death, is in real bad taste. Also, television is a total ‘team work’ medium, it must always be ‘We’. Never ‘I’.

     

    In addition, the archival interviews, already watched umpteenth number of times by all and sundry, were quite boring. When most of us viewers, at least in Mumbai, were keen to know if there was a threat of violence in our backyard. And Dilliwallahs must have been desperate to find out what happened inside the Chadha household. Sometimes I think Indian channel editors are dictators. Don’t think their juniors have the guts to point out their obvious flaws.

     

    As for the press coverage, the only thing I enjoyed was the reprint in Mumbai Mirror of Busybee’s super columns on Thackeray. There has not been, and perhaps never will be, a finer chronicler of Mumbai city than Busybee. He will be remembered long after Balasaheb is forgotten. Yup, I choose writers over cartoonists. 🙂

     

    Must say Twitter was the most delightful of all media. The contrast was telling. All the movie stars (most of who did not know Thackeray personally), were busy singing sweet praises in his memory. And the ‘mango’ people were tweeting about traffic problems and other hazards that would come in the way of Mumbaikars. No prizes for guessing whose side I was on.

     

    Last word reserved for the man himself: I don’t know whether to feel happy or sad that an average cartoonist hailing from a middle-class family, who builds his political brand solely on the junta’s perceived insecurities, can become such a powerful leader in this nation. Not sure if this is the sort of democracy our founding fathers had in mind.

     

    RIP Balasaheb Thackeray.

     

  • Tremendous goodwill generated for Idea. Superb example of how to lift an otherwise ordinary Diwali discount ad

    Debrief: Idea: Dil khush ho gaya, Sirji!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Nice, heart-warming Diwali ad from Idea. And the idea is so pleasing, this commercial can run long after the festival is over. That’s because it promotes communal harmony, which is very refreshing to see in desi advertising; this task is usually left to Bollywood films.

     

    In the TVC, a Muslim man likes a ladies watch he spots inside a shop window. But his excitement turns to sadness when he discovers the hefty price. The dealer points out that it’s Diwali and therefore there’s a 50 percent discount on offer. The chap is elated. He purchases the watch and quickly sends a pic to his beloved through the cell phone.

     

    Good idea, Sirji! This is a lovely public service ad, and therefore the brand benefits in more ways than one. Tremendous goodwill generated for Idea. Superb example of how to lift an otherwise ordinary Diwali discount ad. In fact, I think Idea should make this concept their own, and run similar ads during various fests. Aside from the brand gaining in the process, any attempt to bridge religious divide in this nation must be whole-heartedly supported.

     

    As a Diwali bonus, I did not spot Small B in this commercial, hope they’ve dumped him. Tells you when you have a powerful idea, you don’t need these pseudo celebs.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgZm9z3PgEg[/youtube]

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 4.5 Warm, endearing treatment. And a powerful idea.

     

  • Mumbai-based brand management and licensing enterprise Dream Theatre is launching a merchandise range based on the action adventure series Power Rangers Samurai in India

    Dream Theatre launches Power Rangers Samurai merchandise

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mumbai-based brand management and licensing enterprise Dream Theatre is launching a merchandise range based on the action adventure series Power Rangers Samurai in India. The long-time running hit show owned by Saban Brands is telecast on both Nickelodeon and Sonic.

     

    The new Power Rangers Samurai collection, targeted at audiences between ages 4 and 14 years, ranges from Toys, Apparel, Footwear and Publishing to Sporting goods like Skateboards and Cycles.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Jiggy George, Founder and CEO, Dream Theatre, said, “The Power Rangers franchise is the first boy action brand that has stayed alive and resonant for nearly two decades. Dream Theatre is excited to deliver excitement to the fans in India with a slew of authentic Power Rangers Samurai merchandise.”

     

  • The law needs to be amended. And parents need to inform and educate their children on ground realties. Because when virtual world collides with real world, the result can often be traumatic

    Anil Thakraney: The IT Act needs to be rewritten. ASAP

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    ‘If you have nothing good to say about the departed soul, best to keep quiet. Safety of Mumbai comes first.’ This was my tweet immediately after the announcement of Bal Thackeray’s death. This was not because I panicked, it’s because, one, I wanted all those Mumbaikars who were out on work or on personal errands to make it home safely. And if possible, stock up on rations in case the Sainiks decided to go on a rampage. Two, people from my generation are well aware of the Shiv Sena’s methodologies, and a violent reaction was always to be expected. That nothing happened is largely because of Thackeray Jr’s call for peace.

     

    Which then brings me to the two young girls from Palghar who were made to face the music over an anti-bandh FB update. (Wish they had been following me on Twitter!) First, the girl who posted the message made a technical error. The Shiv Sena had not called for a bandh (though there were stray incidents of a few goons intimidating shopkeepers). The city had decided to shut down on its own. Partly because of fear, partly because of respect. Secondly, and this is where I blame the parents, many young Indians may not be aware of the Sena’s violent ways because that outfit hasn’t launched a big campaign in the last ten years. But those of us who lived through 1992 and 1993 are perfectly aware of what these men are capable of when provoked. I think parents need to make their kids aware of political realities, now that the social media has given everyone an unfettered platform to speak. In that sense, I don’t really blame the two girls.

     

    So does that mean there’s no place for dissent in this so-called democracy? Obviously not. But belting out criticism even before a mass, hugely popular leader has been cremated is inviting trouble. Had the young girl posted her update later this week, I suspect there might have been no reaction at all. Also, it must be said she got unlucky, many others had posted far more damning messages. I do believe timing is the key out here. Unfortunately, the social media has turned many young fingers very itchy, and I have often noticed folks hit the buttons before they think.

     

    So then what now? Well, the goons who attacked the hospital need to be punished, for sure. Charges against the girls need to be dropped and the case withdrawn. But more importantly, the IT Act needs to be totally re-written and made abundantly clear so that there’s zero scope of misuse by the cops in the future. That is a no-brainer.

     

    However, that still doesn’t change the fact that the Facebook-addicted girl has caused two big harms. One, many, many young Indians will now think ten times before commenting on hard issues. I am told many have already deleted harmless updates and tweets on Thackeray. Two, she may have unwittingly given the Sena the bite it needed after their patriarch’s demise. The Sena shakha pramukh from her area is already being hailed as a hero amongst the party cadre.

     

    Net net: The law needs to be amended. And parents need to inform and educate their children on ground realties. Because when virtual world collides with real world, the result can often be traumatic. As we just discovered.

     

    ***

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N8axp9nHNU[/youtube]

    PS: An utterly charming, endearing Christmas ad from the UK. The power of love. And the power of advertising. Brilliant! This is what festival ads should be like.

     

    Anil Thakraney is a senior journalist and editor based in Mumbai. He is also Editor-at-Large, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • Naresh Gupta, CSO, Managing Partner at Bang in the Middle, talks to MxM India about expanding to a new market, Kolkata

    Jaldi 5 with Naresh Gupta: ‘Growth from new geographies beyond Indian borders’

    The six-month-old creative agency Bang In the Middle has recently opened its office in Kolkata. For the new territory it has appointed Meenakshi Sen as Managing Partner on board. Led by Prathap Suthan and Naresh Gupta, the agency has big plans.

     

    Naresh Gupta, CSO, Managing Partner at Bang in the Middle, talks to MxM India about the new market.

     

    01. How big is the Kolkata market for Bang in the Middle, and what scope does it present to a new agency?

    We expect Kolkata to be a significant contributor to our operations. Kolkata is a fairly challenging market for most agencies, and will be a big challenge for a new start up agency. We believe that there are brands in Kolkata who have traditionally looked at the few large agencies to be interested in our offering

     

    02. What clients is the Kolkata office going to cater to?

    We are currently in conversation with a host of clients; we should be able to announce the clients shortly.

     

    03. What are the unique challenges that Kolkata as a market presents?

    Every market is a challenge, Kolkata is a unique challenge. Kolkata is not a large market say like Mumbai, but is a fairly significant market with its own demands. Kolkata has a host of heritage and new age brands from across categories and they do need modern cutting edge advise on the whole gamut of communication.

     

    04. How different will your approach be here?

    We marry the traditional with new age. We leverage our understanding of mainline brand building and then also craft the new media strategy to offer our brands a singular brand proposition that is truly media agnostic. We expect to offer the same services to our clients in Kolkata.

     

    05. After Gurgaon and Kolkata, what is the next stop for Bang in the Middle?

    There are new opportunities we are exploring. The new phase of growth will come from new geographies beyond Indian borders and from newer ideas!

     

    As told to Ananya Saha

     

  • There are no tall promises, there can't be for a silly little freshener, so why waste time? They have also smashed the usual ad cliches, and full marks for not throwing in a hot babe

    Debrief: Godrej Aer: ‘No Bakwaas’ route works

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Godrej Aer’s new commercial is a very good example of how keeping things simple helps when you are dealing with a very low involvement, an almost boring product category. Aer is a car freshener, not something one would even give a second thought to.

     

    The TVC features a young chap who’s seated in his little, no-frills car. The voice-over takes you through everything Godrej Aer WON’T do. It will not make your car bigger, better or luxurious. It won’t even turn you into a celebrity. All it will do is to provide some fragrance inside your cheap, stinky car. That’s it.

     

    I like this approach, it makes the low-profile brand immediately break the clutter. Kinda reminds me of Sprite’s ‘Seedhi baat’ campaign. There are no tall promises, there can’t be for a silly little freshener, so why waste time? They have also smashed the usual ad clichés, and full marks for not throwing in a hot babe, something that’s become mandatory for such a product category. Net result: The brand wins big-time. Suddenly, even if my car doesn’t stink, I am interested.

     

    If there’s one negative aspect to this approach, it’s this: After a couple of exposures, the ad loses its novelty. (This did not happen with Sprite.) It’s a direct, logical ad, and there’s very little entertainment value. They must shift the gear very soon, move the ad to the next level, so that the idea doesn’t lose its potency.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wJrjsaaVQY[/youtube]

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 3. Effective ad. Creates a buzz on a low interest brand.

     

  • Anant Rangaswami's book took on – inter alia – the ASCI. Paritosh Joshi has a reply

    Paritosh Joshi: ASCI is not an Elephant though it might be a herring… a red one

    By Paritosh Joshi

     

    If you are an mxmindia.com habitue, you couldn’t have missed Anant Rangaswami’s thought-provoking “Elephants in the Room”. And if you have already dived into it, it won’t be long before you reach page 96, where a presumptive elephant called the Advertising Standards Council of India resides. Presumptive because no matter his vigorous prose and evident disenchantment with this institution, many of the barbs he directs at it are perhaps better directed elsewhere.

     

    Let’s enumerate the infirmities that Anant cites.

    – ASCI does not have a professional management team.

    – ASCI is unknown to the very consumers whose interest it is supposed to protect.

    – ASCI is toothless. Its decisions have little penal and no deterrent impact.

    – ASCI is slow to react, making whatever actions it does take infructuous.

    – ASCI doesn’t use technology effectively.

    – ASCI doesn’t adequately engage its principal constituencies, most critically the Media.

    – ASCI only functions under duress, such as the imminent arrival of the National Consumer Protection Agency, but is otherwise largely inert.

     

    If I was to read back through the chapter, I may yet spot some more but these constitute a daunting enough list to work my way through, so off we go.

     

    ASCI is a Section 25 company. It exists solely for promoting the cause of Self-Regulation in Advertising thereby ensuring the protection of the interests of the consumers. Unlike similarly incorporated entities that work as special interest lobbies or sports administration bodies that almost by definition have a very large operational throughput and often, substantial revenue sources, ASCI is a lean, low-cost body. The two operating but mutually autonomous components of the ASCI system: the Board and the Consumer Complaints Council, both depend upon voluntary and essentially pro bono effort. ASCI does not contribute to advancing the success of any business. It actually goes about censuring businesses that fall out of line. I also serve in another Section 25 company whose outputs directly impacts the ability of an entire industry to sell its products and even that company finds it impossibly hard to find funding for its activities. I wish our constituents were enlightened enough to see the self interest in generously funding ASCI to the point where it could have a top-notch professional team to advance its agenda. To be fair, the lean Secretariat that ASCI runs does a reasonably competent job of keeping the complaints pipeline, such as it is, well administered.

     

    ASCI does not have large bags of money to splash out on consumer communication. It does, however, use its public-spirited objectives and, more pragmatically, its Board members’ contacts and influence, to secure pro bono advertising inventory to air creative pieces also generated pro bono. Is this enough? Heck, no. Can ASCI use new media? Surely it must and here too if someone has a great idea, (s)he must reach out to ASCI at the contacts that I provide at the end of this piece.

     

    ASCI is a self-regulatory organisation. It is not the police. The power of self-regulation lies in ‘Naming and Shaming’, not penalty. Do the perpetrators of mischief get named and shamed enough? I don’t think they do. Again, keep in mind that ASCI does not have advertising budgets to publish its monthly ‘rogues gallery’ but it does issue the decisions of the Consumer Complaints Council after every meeting. If someone has a great idea to ensure they become much more visible, yup, contact ASCI.

     

    ASCI’s CCC now meets fortnightly, up from a monthly that it had maintained for 25 of the ~27 years that it has existed. Can it meet more often? Should video-conferencing and other technological means be investigated? Remember that the functioning of the CCC depends on close adherence to a well developed ‘due process’. The Board is certainly getting its arms around all the possibilities and ensuring that they pass standards of legal propriety before institutionalizing them. Some changes have already come in. More will surely follow.

     

    If the ‘Naming and Shaming’ system works better than it does today, the possibility of being thus shamed should become the biggest deterrent that a marketer must fear and respect before (s)he does something that falls out of line. Also, ASCI must evangelize the principles of the Self-Regulatory Code, most critically with recruits at entry levels in Media, Advertising and Marketing businesses. Does it do enough? No, it doesn’t. Again, ideas, ideas.

     

    The suggestion that ASCI only functions under duress is a low blow. When it was set up in 1985, it was truly an idea ahead of its time, promoted by a bunch of right-thinking people who recognized the perils that lay ahead. The remarkable durability of the Code, albeit with periodic additions to address specific areas of concern, is testament to the thinking that went behind it. Interestingly, global best practice suggests that self regulators often exist in very productive partnerships with statutory consumer protection bodies. The putative NCPA doesn’t have to become an ASCI competitor; it could very usefully become the appellate, penal body, dealing with situations where ‘Naming and Shaming’ have failed and more onerous forfeits are imperative.

     

    Finally, the ASCI is now, and for all times to come, a work in progress. The best way of making it better is for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party.

     

    Here are the contacts:

    Advertising Standards Council of India

    Tel: (022) 23521066/23516863

    Toll Free Number : 1-800-22-2724

    Fax: (022) 23516863

    Website: www.ascionline.org

    E-mail: contact@ascionline.org

     

  • We missed out on all the death tamasha that would have been played out inside the newsrooms and outside the Yerawada jail, amongst other places. Not to speak of all the entertainment that happens when wild speculation goes full-on

    Anil Thakraney: Shucks! We lost the action on Kasab. 🙁

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I am very upset they chose to keep Kasab’s execution out of the glare of the media. We missed out on all the death tamasha that would have been played out inside the newsrooms and outside the Yerawada jail, amongst other places. Not to speak of all the entertainment that happens when wild speculation goes full-on. But instead of drowning myself in sorrow, I shut my eyes and imagined the likely scenes and sounds, behind and in front of the cameras.  Here goes.

     

    Reporter: “Kasab has ordered tomatoes for his last breakfast!” Anchor: “Not mutton biryani? This is breaking news stuff! Does Islam permit this diet for a death row prisoner? Viewers, we’ll shortly connect with some Islamic scholars on this sensational development.”

     

    Anchor: “It’s exactly two minutes to go for the hanging. Ms Human Rights Activist, please tell our viewers if death penalty should to be abolished.” Human Rights Activist: “Yes, yes, yes! This is against god, against nature, against humanity, we must stop this execution right now!”

     

    Anchor to reporter: “Our expert says death penalty is wrong. Will you grab some sound bytes from those hanging around outside the Yerawada jail?” Reporter: “Will do, gimme a moment, right now I need to cover the bloody hanging.”

     

    26/11 survivor Bhimshan Mansukhani: “Kill the bastard! Kill the m……r  f……r!”

     

    Reporter: “Think we just spotted the hangman entering the jail!” Anchor: “Quick, quick, ask him if he’s suffering from guilt pangs. Also ask him what’s his fee, and if he’ll go on a pilgrimage soon after pulling the lever.”

     

    Anchor: “There’s talk of the body being shipped to Pakistan! We must debate on how the body will be dispatched. By air, road or sea?” Production Head: “Okay, but I need a few hours to assemble the experts. Right now only Prahlad Kakkar is available. Will he do?” Anchor: “Yes, yes! He’s good television.”

     

    26/11 survivor Bhimshan Mansukhani: “Kill the bastard! Kill the m……r  f……r!”

     

    Reporter: “Oh! I just heard a loud sound! Must be Kasab’s skull cracking!” Anchor to production team: “Raise the audio level, zip up the bass, and play that sound effect in continuous loop until further instructions.”

     

    Anchor: “Ladies and gentlemen, we announce the death of Ajmal Aamir Kasab. And remember, you heard it on this channel first!” Production Head: “Er, what should we put on air now? Will they let us cover the burial?” Anchor: “Damn, I didn’t think of that! Okay, forget Kasab and put Afzal Guru’s file pictures. Let’s get after him now!”

     

    26/11 survivor Bhimshan Mansukhani: “Kill the bastard! Kill the m……r  f……r!”

     

    And of course, that quintessential TV question when the OB vans managed to gherao Kasab at the Yerawada gate. “Kasabji, aap kaise mahsoos kar rahe hain?”

     

    Alas, dear fellow television viewers, we were deprived of all the action. Grrrr.

     

    ***

     

  • Even if the ads had boring scripts, which in fact most do (thanks to risk-averse clients), someone like Chopra would have made them look pretty

    Anil Thakraney: Ad world needs a Yash Chopra

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I write this immediately after watching Yash Chopra’s ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’. And must say I quite liked it, despite the obvious little flaws in the script. And that’s because Chopra was the one director in Bollywood who, apart from having the guts to experiment with stories, was blessed with a sharp eye for aesthetics. Every shot is made to look beautiful, many of them can be frozen into paintings. And this isn’t the first time one has noticed this in a Chopra film. As I walked out of the multiplex, it occurred to me that his death is a bigger loss to the film world than they imagine. Directors will come and go, but it’s rare to find one who combines good storytelling with great art direction.

     

    Which then made me think: What if Yash Chopra had chosen to be an ad filmmaker? I can only imagine the wonderful ads we would have got to watch. And yet, ads that would have stayed true to the storyboard. Indeed, this is the sort of talent the desi advertising world lacks today. We have enough directors who cater to the client’s needs, but they lack an eye for beauty. Yash Chopra would have been the sort of director who would have effortlessly bridged the two worlds. Exactly as he did with his movies.

     

    And here’s what would have happened: Even if the ads had boring scripts, which in fact most do (thanks to risk-averse clients), someone like Chopra would have made them look pretty. The problem with ads, and I now speak as a viewer, is that the same dull, ugly ones keep getting repeat play. And many of them end up testing your patience. Just imagine if they at least looked beautiful. Would we then mind repeat exposures? I believe not. And wouldn’t that be great news for risk-averse brand managers?

     

    Inside the same multiplex, I watched two very boring ads. One, for Vicco Turmeric, which looked so ugly, it made me want to puke. Another one was a straightforward commercial for a brand called Forest Essentials, a skincare product. But it was shot aesthetically, it looked pretty. Therefore, despite nothing happening in the commercial, I enjoyed watching it. But such commercials are very rare.

     

    Yash Chopra, sadly, is gone. But he has left behind a big lesson. For Bollywood. And for advertising.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Super idea from a Los Angeles artist. Change the way hoardings are constructed, make them out of environmentally-friendly, well-watered bamboo gardens. We MUST ape this one in Mumbai. So that even if the yucky faces we are compelled to watch make us cringe, we can at least breathe easy.

     

    Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/stephen-glassman-urban-air-la-billboards-bamboo_n_2103099.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

     

     

  • Is the ground fertile in India, just as it is in the US where a PR chief was given charge of an ad network?

    MxM Mondays: Is India ready for cross-pollination between varying media functions?

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Harris Diamond, a true-blue PR professional, has taken charge of McCann Erickson – a creative advertising network. We spoke to a cross-section of professionals who have been through this transition and have helped facilitate it, to ask: “Is India ready for cross-pollination between various media functions?”

     

    Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Group – Financial Services

    Let me just pull back in history, and say that cross-pollination has been a way of life for many years. I say so as a person who has been through this journey himself. In 1991, I joined O&M. I had first started in Direct Marketing and was then into advertising. When I left in 2003, I was an Executive Director of financial advertising corporate relations at O&M. In 1991, there was a shift from direct marketing to advertising and in 2003, a shift again from advertising plus public relations and I was a Country Head for that. If you look back in time, there have been opportunities for people to cross-pollinate at middle-and-senior-levels.

     

    What you are today seeing is happening at the senior-most level, which is a great endorsement of a need for a brand perspective rather than a mere advertising or public relations or digital or direct marketing perspective. In normal talking, we equate brand to advertising and advertising to brand. If you ask a marketer, advertising is one cog in the wheel. In the communication mix, you have to take a holistic perspective. And to take a holistic perspective, it is ideal if you have a holistic experience. Otherwise, typically, if you have an advertising mindset, it will never be able to think out of the ’30-sec’ mould. I think it is very important to have and support cross-pollination and I think this is a great move.

     

    Secondly, advertising has always been the sexier, the more glamorous, and more attractive profession to be in. As I said, very often advertising is synonymous to its brands. But having been there, public relations is far higher in the strategic evolution order. If you are an advertising person, you get to engage with the brand manager or on a good day, with the marketing head who only talk to you about the brand. But if you are in PR, you have the power to partner CEOs and boardroom. And therefore, get a perspective on not only the brand but also on the business. And therefore, I feel that that recognition of strategic contribution that an agency can play a role in the brand or company.

     

    It has happened for decades, but rarely and not regularly. If you ask me top-of-mind, I cannot think of a second name. Anyone else who might have cross-pollinated like I did, I cannot think of a name instantly.

     

    As far as challenge is concerned, there is a perception barrier at both ends. An employee thinks that advertising is front-end, advertising is sexy, advertising is glamorous, and as perception other functions are not considered sexy or appealing – it is seen as not a move forward in one’s professional career. On the other hand, from the company’s perspective, you need a manager for business but you also need a leader. There is two-way of thinking. One perception is if I have managed one function with people, I can manage advertising, I can manage PR, I can manage direct marketing. The people have to know the discipline, and I do not necessarily have to know the discipline.

     

    People who have shifted from advertising in O&M to direct marketing included Prita Singh and Harish Vasudevan. They did not know direct marketing but their perception was “we do not need to know and we have to manage people, clients, business, and we have to manage people who know direct marketing”. On the other hand, there is a perception by the company that you have to be a leader and not only a manager. As a leader you have to talk to the client in the language he has come to me. If he comes to me to talk about PR and I talk to him about commercials, he is not going to be very excited with me. And therefore, why cross-pollinate.

     

    From an employee’s perspective, most people think it is not a move up in life and is not glamorous and for a company, moving people is seen as leader or not a leader. There is perceptional barrier to such moves.

     

    A person who actually cross-pollinates, benefits as they take the holistic picture of a brand and business. And therefore, agencies should encourage it at mid-levels so that by the time a person becomes senior, he has already had a 360-degree perspective.

     

    O&M used to have a mantra called 360-degree brand perception. Now that normally happens with an agency that has disciplines beyond advertising. O&M has many disciplines. They used to think that instead of going to clients as an individual discipline, why don’t they combine and approach a brand rather than just advertising or PR or direct marketing. They wanted to create a cadre of Brand Team Leaders (BTL concept). The leader was supposed to be discipline-neutral and he would lead a team of people who were specialists. That did not too well because of this hierarchical brahminical order, they filled up the roles with advertising people. They could not thus get out the best benefits out of other disciplines.

     

    A true brand leader is a member who has actually experienced, learnt and benefited from all disciplines. And therefore, if it happens at middle level, by the time he reaches senior level he can command leadership and lead the thinking. According to me, BTL concept could have worked very well and much better if it was a person who had experience of two-three disciplines and was then made a BTL.

     

    Cross-pollination is very good for businesses and brands if initiated at a relatively middle level so that real benefit comes at the senior level.

     

    Abha Kapoor, Executive Director, K&J Search Consultants

    K&J is known to place seniormost professionals from outside the media industry in a media company. Forget the cross-pollination among media affiliates, we have placed FMCG and Telecom person in to media: from heading radio stations, broadcast channels and entire media conglomerate. A recent example being Amit Jain from Coke who went on to head MTV, Sudhanshu Vats from Unilever who went on to become Group CEO of ss-Viacom 18. We believe in and encourage cross-pollination because talent gets jaded and you need fresh thought, fresh blood. Anybody who has that experience at scale and understanding of business as a whole and has maturity and leadership skills, can transition into a new industry.

     

    Forget the cross-pollination within media or media vertical, we believe that someone who ideally has the intelligence and education can easily transition into a senior management role from an unrelated industry. We are very happy when we see this cross-pollination because a completely different perspective comes into play. People who have come into media have handled people at much larger scale.

     

    The intrinsic challenge is to understand the business and the sector for a person who comes into media from having good experience in handling another industry or some other media vertical. This is an obvious challenge given that they have not been exposed to a different industry earlier. Somebody from FMCG would have come from a structured set-up, and would have worked with certain processes and systems while some of our media verticals might be chaotic. Someone who is structured in their thinking might not be able to transition so easily, whereas someone more dynamic can learn and run with the ball in a couple of months. They need to understand the dynamics of media. Creative people are obviously a bit different to handle, which is not so difficult when one has the capability and track record of running a successful business and has the capability to learn and bring a new perspective to a new challenge.

     

    Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media India & South Asia

    Typically at the CXO level, roles are industry agnostic. There are the challenges of industry norms, processes, core domain knowledge, nuances and network but a whole supporting team exists and CXO’s are trained to manage and navigate these.

     

    On the positive side, cross-pollination can bring innovative business ideas. This is also not the first instance in Indian industry which does see its benefits but it is far from becoming a policy anytime soon, a trend yes. A lot here will depend on the mind-set, culture, objective and present need of a company. Also an existing group with multi-dimensional media arms will be more ready to work the shift as in this case as the candidate is experienced in the group’s culture and business ecosystem.

     

    Here Harris Diamond is not from the industry yet he is of it; understands business needs across industry, knows how to bring in the revenue and handle a group of agencies. He will bring in alternate views, positively contribute and revel in the creativity. Clearly McCann believed he would provide the edge.

     

    Vikram Chhachhi, Executive Vice President at DHR International

    Yes, it has been happening in India. I do not know of the names offhand. The cross-pollination is actually health for not only media, but for any kind of industry. It brings in new ideas, thoughts and concepts. It brings in fresh insights or styles with how people see, do or approach things. The entire media and consumer space is seeing a lot of conversion that is happening. And it will continue to happen for a long time to come.

     

    The challenges are based on how people accept or reject change and how people re-align themselves. The challenges are all around the acceptance of people to the changes happening around the marketplace: are they active, reactive, and responsive to these.