MxMIndia

Category: BLOGS

  • So many things to get right – the face, the space, and the place(ment). Anujita Jain makes a list.

    12 ‘must-do’s when engaging a celeb for your brand

    By Anujita Jain

     

    #1 First, the key is to identify the need for a brand ambassador ­ whether it is to get noticed, or to catapult to a leadership position, or to change image or create demand, or other.

     

    #2 Think of a brand endorsement as a mid to long term investment. Quick successes or failures of endorsements are not representative. Riding on the equity of a known personality is a strategic call. By itself, the decision cannot guarantee success, it needs correct usage. For instance, an endorser doesn’t come at the cost of a good creative.

     

    #3 Go with a mindset to alter the script or storyline of a advertising creative if required, while approaching an endorser. While the communication strategy is brand objective dependent, the storyline may need to be re-thought with the chosen endorse in mind. Neither should the endorser be ideally selected with just one script in mind. The investment on an endorser often deserves and asks for that.

     

    #4 Match endorser motivations with your brand motivations, to get more out of the endorsement than what the contract promises. This may not just yield in the celebrity commitment to brand but also in the ripple effect the communication may create.

     

    #5 If as a brand manager, you are looking for a deal or a quick bargains, the only way is not in going for smaller names, but may also be about bigger names who are looking for new dimensions in their own stated personality. Match that need, and you may have a deal! While top end luxury brands have always had this advantage from even A-lister celebrities, this is often true for many other brands with respect to some potential endorsers.

     

    #6 Plan out how you will use the endorser days thoroughly, so that you don’t end up with expensive days you struggle to use within the year, a common issue with the bulk of endorsement deals. The first few days are often easily utilised through shoots etc., but the balance 2-3 days end up being hurriedly utilised for sub-optimal activation that doesn’t get the right ROI for the day cost.

     

    #7 Always have alternatives in mind while approaching endorsers. Options not only in the same grade of celebrities, but also pan grades and genres. This not only allows more creative thought for utilisation of the celebrity days, but also results in smarter value-benefit deals.

     

    #8 Unless you have 4X budget for media and magnification, don’t put more than X for the endorser.  If amplification is the chief reason for using the endorser, it defeats the purpose to cut corners in the resources put behind it.

     

    #9 Modern-day endorsements are best approached not only in terms of day count, but also digital or equity usage rights.  This again means a clear strategy of endorser usage, clear ideas of utilization of celebrity equity beyond just his/her days, and a strong plan

     

    #10 If the brand works its communication around the endorser, the likelihood of the endorser working their schedules around the brand is that much more. An endorser, being a human brand, is highly likely to value good planning by the brand, and go that extra mile to deliver.

     

    #11 Sharper the brand focus versus the category, the better the endorser choice.  So think of the brand positioning and attributes that define brand image, and then create your endorser consideration set. Often brands approach endorsers from the point of view of their category, failing to then translate an edge in their communication, resulting in a diluted or under-utilised endorsement.

     

    #12 Often, especially for mid-segment brands, considering a set of niche endorsers may bring more value than going for a single mid-range endorser. This de-risks the brand, at the same time allowing them to ride on to a cluster of icons that have a deep and strong, albeit smaller follower base. Today, there is a whole new breed of such celebrities, who have a die-hard loyal following in their chosen fields, who work as strongly as special interest channels do versus a general entertainment one, for the relevant brands.

     

    Anujita Jain is Founder & COO, Alchemist Talent Solutions.

     

  • We have finally found a real match-winner in the cricket team, a player who doesn't get intimidated by huge targets, and it's in the nation's interest that we carefully nurture this rare talent. Hold the mega praises and the fat endorsement contracts for a bit, people. Let's not kill the golden goose.

    Anil Thakraney: Don’t kill Kohli

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Young Virat Kohli must be pleased as punch. Not only did he manage to do the unthinkable – eclipse Sachin’s 100th 100 – the hot, new sensation is sitting on a goldmine. Imagine the excitement inside corporate boardrooms, as brand managers salivate at the prospect of signing multi million dollar contracts with the lucky dude. And also inside the buzzing rooms of editors and programming heads, as they plan huge spreads for the new found hero. What works even more for Kohli is that he looks reasonably good, unlike most desi cricketers. This makes him a huge media and ad property.

     

    I must quickly add here that I personally have very little respect for brand managers who piggyback on celebrities. This is their way of acknowledging that they are idea-less and want someone else to save their skin. But that’s a debate for another day. I have a larger worry at this point of time.

     

    Not every cricketer is mentally as strong and sorted as Tendulkar. Too much adulation and quick riches could easily go to Kohli’s head; he’s still very young, a 23-year-old lad. We have finally found a real match-winner in the cricket team, a player who doesn’t get intimidated by huge targets, and it’s in the nation’s interest that we carefully nurture this rare talent. We need to give the guy some space and time to mature (he’s got a long way to go), and both, the media and the marketers, must go easy on the young man. Hold the mega praises and the fat endorsement contracts for a bit, people. Let’s not kill the golden goose. We must think India first.

     

    Having said all of the above, I am equally aware that I am wasting my time out here. Our celeb-obsessed media and our idea-starved brand managers will pay no attention to this. They will go for the kill. What to do, we are like this only. All I can say is, one hopes Virat Kohli stays grounded. And keeps his head screwed on. Else, he’s finished. Like one Vinod Kambli.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Must read. An interesting profile of Imran Khan. From his playboy days to his new avatar as a devout Muslim. From captaining a difficult cricket team to the burning ambition to lead a ravaged nation. And of course, his recent bonhomie with dodgy mullahs and terror groups.

     

    Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/04/imran-khan-pakistan-cricketer-politician

     

  • From social media to internet radio – everywhere one looks, there is need for content innovation. Amitabh Srivastava explains why it can’t be neglected.

    The Anchor: 4 reasons why radio needs content innovation

    By Amitabh Srivastava

     

    #1 Emerging Technologies:

    Keeping in view the emerging technologies, it is very important that everything is taken into consideration; for instance social media can be of great help in terms of getting more interactive with listeners.

     

    #2 To Engage Listeners:

    These days the maximum listenership is through moving vehicles, so if there is some innovation catering to those audiences, then it would be a very good option.

     

    #3 Rise of Internet Radio:

    Internet radio is fast growing all over the world, and India is no exception. Internet radio will be emerging as the big thing very shortly.

     

    #4 Two-Way Communication:

    This is most important because the moment you get interactive there will be an increase in participation from the listeners also.

     

    Amitabh Srivastava is the Country Manager – South Asia, Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

     

  • Everyone seems to be using the BB for all sorts of stuff. Dating, BBMing, uploading pics, chatting, etc. As a result, the uncle suits have gone into absolute mourning, and this makes the TVC very unappetizing to watch.

    Debrief: Vodafone BlackBerry: Self-indulgent tripe

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The Vodafone ‘BlackBerry Boys’ are back. Those singing and jiving suits. If I recall correctly, these buggers were complaining in a commercial a couple of years ago, that their BlackBerry had been stolen by dudes and dudettes. That it was no longer a corporate toy. Well, they are still cribbing about that, but the new ad is immensely irritating.

     

    Vodafone wants to increase the BB penetration further amongst the masses. And now the suits appear to have totally lost their ‘USP’. Everyone seems to be using the BB for all sorts of stuff. Dating, BBMing, uploading pics, chatting, etc. As a result, the uncle suits have gone into absolute mourning, and this makes the TVC very unappetizing to watch. Trust me, it’s no fun watching suits whine and sob, we see enough of that in the corporate world anyway. So while the original version was peppy and novel, the sequel is jaded and boring. I think it was a big mistake rehashing the ‘BlackBerry Boys’. They should have come up with a fresh idea.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz1Tsh4MW0o[/youtube]

    More importantly, in what appears to be an exercise in self-indulgence, the marketer and their ad agency overlooked one very important factor: There is zero entertainment in the commercial. After the first exposure you want to shoot the mourning suits. The least they should have done was to make them more interesting, if that is indeed possible. And what’s with the running supers that spell out the tired jingle? ‘BlackBerry Boys’ don’t understand simple angrezi? Now that’s reason to mourn.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. RIP, Messrs BlackBerry Boys

  • Instead of mutual finger pointing, the attempt here is to be shaking hands. As public relations increasingly influences corporate communications strategy, pressure has mounted to measure the effectiveness of PR

    The Anchor: 6 ways to measure the effectiveness of PR

    The blame game is interesting, for agencies want to blame the client for not giving a proper brief, and the clients want to blame the agencies for not understanding the brief, and attempt to take the campaign in a direction of chance.  Fingers pointed at both sides – for agencies have a credentials presentation replete with case studies that is akin to saying, I am xyzee and I scored a double century five years back, or a month back, and hence I am an accomplished person and suited for bagging your account. While the case studies are anecdotal and embellish an agency presentation, the client’s requirements may be completely different.

     

    So instead of mutual finger pointing, the attempt here is to be shaking hands.  As public relations increasingly influences corporate communications strategy, and regularly takes its place in the marketing communications ‘mix’, pressure has mounted, both from clients and from within the profession, to measure the effectiveness of PR.

     

    1. Questions for setting the right objectives

    Every one from the agency side tends to ask, please tell me the objective of your engaging us, but in actuality, What are your objectives is not the first question, it is in fact the last.  The questions to perhaps introspect to set the right objectives are: Where are we (company) starting from? Which audiences do we need to reach? What are the messages and the appropriate channels of communications? How do we want those audiences to respond or behave as a result? When do we need them to react? What do we need to measure to determine whether the objectives have been achieved and therefore whether the PR activity – including the cost of measurement – is worth the investment?

     

    In this context, the objectives must be viewed in the context of the total brief, and thus relate to the current environment, to intended audiences, messages, desired response and timescale. If all those elements are in place, then objectives can be measured and it becomes possible to say whether – and to what extent – the PR activity has succeeded.

     

    2. Selecting a PR Consultancy 

    Having done the most important step of determining your objective, one has to get into selecting a PR Consultancy through a process of systematic search that would involve steps like checking on the Expertise of the agency, specializations if any like Corporate, Financial Services, Technology, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Sports and Events, and so on, the  reach – as a national, regional, local or boutique agency.

     

    3. The process of short-listing

    Talking to a B2B segment or journalists that cover a specific beat related to you business could help in terms of getting some top of mind companies that could emerge in the shortlist. Of course, the conventional method requires one to send a RFP, asking the agencies of their credentials, background detail, resources and special skills possessed, the current clients and activities and significant achievements.

     

    At the time of the presentation, clients like to judge on the depth of the homework done by the clients, their perception of the PR Problem, and any creative routes to handle the same or just the usual listing of tools and media, the team and expertise offered, campaign effectiveness for other clients, and the infrastructure and facilities, and their modes of charging – project basis, monthly retainer, hourly basis, and/or rate card, and so on.

     

    Don’t be overly concerned with setting communications objectives, but being very clear about the organisation’s strategic aims, business objectives and how it wishes to be perceived, and rely on the PR professionals to develop the appropriate communications response like ‘defining PR objectives’;  ‘identifying the techniques’ to be deployed to reach the relevant audiences and messages, the ‘budget and resources’ required from the client, the ‘financials and service term’, and most important, ‘the resources’ offered by the agency.

     

    4. Identifying and sharing the strategic goals

    It is important to share with the prospective PR agency about the overall strategic goals, the business/marketing objectives, external or internal climate (social, political, competitive, industrial relations factor), the company’s present reputation and how does it want to be perceived, the objectives set for advertising and other communications disciplines, and the criteria by which we will judge the success of the communications programme?

     

    5. Tools to measure the content

    Publicity in print and broadcast media remains the biggest single products of public relations. Analysis of the content of media coverage is the most commonly used tool of measurement, but by no means the only one. Today, tools to measure presence in media as well a market research can be used to gauge PR effectiveness.

     

    With a scientific base, PR is more readily accepted as a valid communications tool, better able to justify its budget.  It helps to bring PR into the broader corporate decision making process and makes the PR practitioner a more credible advocate in the boardroom.

     

    6. Output, Out-take & Outcome

    Outcome could be a three pronged approach one could adopt as a measurement process.

     

    Outputs show whether the message was sent and aimed at the target audience through analysing media coverage including number of articles and interviews, prominence and message.

     

    Out-take refers the degree to which the audience is aware of the message, has retained and understand it through interviews among target audiences for instance, pre-and post-campaign stages – qualitative research and one-to-one depth interviews to assess reaction to a programme and future intentions.

     

    Output helps in knowing whether – and to what degree – public relations activity is actually helped in changing people’s opinions attitudes and behaviour, by detailed interviewing and focus groups among target audiences, research among representative samples of media and other opinion formers or simply observation of people’s behaviour.

     

    If measurable PR objectives are set, measurement and evaluation will enable the client to judge the cost/benefit of the investment in PR.  This provides the basis of PR planning helping the client and the PR adviser to build on the ideas that worked well, and modifying or abandoning those that did not. It helps clients take a longer-term view of PR’s potential contribution to corporate performance. It assists in judging the effectiveness of PR against other corporate communications and marketing techniques, ensuring the most efficient ‘mix’, and thus shaking hands rather than pointing fingers at one another!

     

    Sudarshan Srinivasan heads Prognosys Marcom Services that manages 7C’sContent-Creatives-Collaterals-Connect-Coaching-Conversations-Campaigns for their clients.

     

  • Danish super-chef Rene Redzepi got a four-page spread in the same issue that aapro Narendra Modi got two, notes Ranjona Banerji in the 95th edition of Freaking News

    Freaking News: Much ado about Time’s Modi cover?

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Finally got my hands on the Time magazine featuring Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and all that springs to mind in Shakespeare. Much ado about nothing in fact. For all that Modi is on the cover, the text is a double spread. It appears to have been started when Modi was on his “Sadhbhavana mission” and contains some interaction between the writer, Jyoti Thottam, Time’s New Delhi correspondent, and him.

     

    What do we learn from it? That Modi is not remorseful about the 2002 riots, that he grew up as a pracharak, that industry in Gujarat is booming and that Muslims may not be better off in this state but they are certainly not worse off. Nothing that we did not already know. The hypothesis that Modi could be the next prime minister of India is tenuous at best – the article displays a very superficial interpretation of Indian politics and how it functions. The comparisons with Rahul Gandhi are specious and Modi did not campaign for the BJP in UP, we do not know how he would have affected the vote. The larger picture in which this profile is based is that the UPA is finished. Perhaps someone convinced Thottam that the BJP could win the next general election with Modi’s help?

     

    Why Time decided to run this story is what is interesting but since Time has done away with that little publisher’s note in the first few pages and no one seems to have asked them, we have no idea. Instead we have to wonder why Hindustan Times decided that the Time story was front-page worthy and why channels like NDTV thought the issue needed a debate.

     

    In any analysis, Time is will within its rights to do what it wants on its pages. Incidentally, Danish super-chef Rene Redzepi gets a four page spread in the same issue. Also, we are talking about the Asia edition of the newsmagazine, not the international or American editions. (Though according to comedian supreme Jon Stewart, the American edition of Time is most likely to have a cover story on whether pets like to wear matching clothes with their owners.) There is no significance to the timing – except that after the article appeared, the BJP lost a significant Lok Sabha by-election to the Congress in Gujarat.

    Enough said about nothing, I think.

     

    **

     

    The hysteria on TV over the allegations that two BJP MLAs were seen watching porn in the assembly by a senior journalist was vastly annoying and much less amusing than the jokes on twitter: “One Gujarat MLA to another: came cho?” (Thanks to Peter Griffin of Forbes).

     

    As usual TV lost the plot – the issue is about the appropriateness of watching porn in the legislature. Instead we went into screams and shouts about banning or legitimising pornography. Rahul Kanwal on Headlines Today though was quite sharp about stopping Shaina NC and Yatin Oza of the BJP making the debate about Narendra Modi!

     

    **

     

    Congratulations to CNN-IBN for being the most watched channel (it says) for the election results and the budget. They were certainly less annoying for most of the day on both days.

     

    **

     

    This bit is personal. When I complained a few months ago that Indian newspapers (particularly the Times of India) were not giving enough due to tennis star Roger Federer’s remarkable recovery after he won the yearender in London 2011, a young person commented (sounded young to me anyway) that Federer’s achievements were unremarkable or words to that effect. Now suddenly, according to the media, Indian and international, he’s the hottest thing on the tennis firmament and he’s everywhere.

     

    That’s vindication on two counts!!

     

  • Remember these tips and stay Cool, says Anup Chandrasekharan.

    The Anchor: The 6 Cs of the TV business in South India

    By Anup Chandrasekharan

     

    Consumer: The consumers in South India are probably the most complex lot to understand. Each state in South has more than 20 districts and each district is a state on its own. Hence one can imagine the varied preferences of these consumers, and one has to find a path that will cater to and appease this varied audience.

     

    Connectivity: CNS penetration is more than 90 percent in all the four states put together in the South including TN, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. In fact, in states like Tamil Nadu it is said that they have more TV homes than toilets!

     

    Content: Content is the key to success for anyone in the business. In the South, audiences like to watch content which is good for family viewing. In terms of difference in content, in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh the general rule is that audiences like to watch content that is loud whereas in Kerala and Karnataka content that is subtle is preferred.

     

    Cost and Earnings: It is possible to invest prudently in content while keeping the cost of operations on a tight leash, thereby ensuring that ROI is high. The mantra is to invest in smart content and keep running and operations cost minimum, which is possible among the Southern channels.

     

    Capability: It’s a sad truth but the talent pool is scarce as there are hardly any good institutes which can impart basic training for a foundation to enter the TV industry. Hence most of the learning comes while being on the job.

     

    Competition: There are 17 channels put together in Kerala and Karnataka and 35 in total in AP and TN. Therefore, there is no space for being smug and content if one enjoys a leadership position. The tables can turn any time and the heat is forever on, as competition intensifies among the existing players.

     

    Anup Chandrasekharan is the Business Head, Suvarna Channel.

     

  • One really hopes Kahaani's success at the box office will make movie makers introspect and go back to making the script the hero, writes Anil Thakraney

    Is ‘Kahaani’ the gamechanger?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I watched Vidya Balan’s ‘Kahaani’ following all the brouhaha in the social media. As am sure many people did. It is also becoming increasingly clear that at least in the urban areas, Twitter and Facebook can, to a large extent, determine the fate of a film. This is the new word of mouth.

     

    On the subject of the movie itself, while I did yawn a couple of times and found that the climax lacked gravitas, I walked out of the multiplex with a good feeling. Because, at last, here was a Hindi film that had a real hero (and no, that’s not Balan… any actress with reasonably good acting skills could have pulled this off). And that hero is: Story.

     

    It is certainly refreshing to watch a desi film which doesn’t suffer from the Big Star disease that has infected Bollywood for a couple of decades now. Where movies are made and marketed solely on the basis of huge names like SRK, Salman, Aamir, Bachchan, Hrithik, etc. Where weak and often embarrassing stories are written with these demi-gods in mind. Where the audiences are expected to digest any drivel as long as the charismatic hero is in the frame. In fact, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan have taken this nonsense to a ridiculous level… they not only act themselves in every film, they even gloat about it!

     

    This does not happen in world cinema, not in any other nation. In Hollywood, big stars like Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Jack Nicholson sink into the roles they enact, they seldom play themselves. This trap which Bollywood has dug for itself has resulted in standards of cinema plummeting to new depths of mediocrity. It has also resulted in film writers being paid poorly and treated like ‘extras’. Bollywood is the only movie industry in the world where producers FIRST sign the male hero and THEN think about the story. This is unheard of anywhere else.

     

    In that ridiculous scenario, ‘Kahaani’ comes as a breath of fresh air. One really hopes its success at the box office will make movie makers introspect and re-haul the current system. And go back to making the script the hero. Only when this happens will the rest of the world take Bollywood a bit more seriously. And we could dream of winning the elusive Oscar some day.

     

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t1_L7D7ZRg[/youtube]

    Yes, ‘Kahaani’ gives me hope.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Here’s a, well, interesting ad from The Singapore Tourism Board. I find the choice of words, ‘Get Lost’, quite offensive. Unless I am missing something out here, and the Aussies, to whom this ad is directed, like being abused. Methinks the advertiser has screwed up on this one.

     

  • A N Chorrea on why the last week of every March is so vital in every Indian organization's existence.

    The Anchor: 5 reasons why this is the most important week in the year

    By A N Chorrea

     

    1. Heck, we are on March 26. Last few days to shore up revenues and this is decidedly the last week of the financial year for a good part of Indian companies. So for that one last time, go for it!

     

    2. It’s the last few days to make those tax-saving investments. If you don’t make them now, you could have to pay more tax for the year and, of course, save less.

     

    3. April will see appraised salaries, if not higher. It’s also the time of the year which sees a maximum number of people quitting, given not-very-nice pay hikes. So time to get those resumes cleaned up and get the LinkedIn profiles in order.

     

    4. For adland, April is Goafest month. Time to rejoice, win awards and along the way, gain some gyaan.

     

    5. Jan 1 is when most people do it, but this is yet another opportunity to make new year resolutions. Get teams energised for the next fiscal. Achieve higher targets.

     

    Enjoy.

     

    A N Chorrea is a seasoned mediawatcher writing under a pseudonym.

     

  • A piece of news that's going to generate much sound and angst. Hemant Morparia, one of India's foremost editorial cartoonists, has moved from Mid-Day to Mumbai Mirror.

    Mediaah! Morparia moves from Mid-Day to Mirror, Weekend tweets, The Monday Psssst!

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Big Switch! Morparia takes his toon from Mid-Day to Mumbai Mirror

    In Mumbai’s media circles, this is a piece of news that’s going to generate much sound and angst. Hemant Morparia, one of India’s foremost editorial cartoonists, has moved from Mid-Day to Mumbai Mirror. There was a time when he could have been called a part-time cartoonist, but since around a decade, he appears to be doing two full-time jobs. The first as a radiologist and sonologist at the Breach Candy Hospital and the second as an editorial cartoonist. Now with Mumbai Mirror, Time Out and a few other publications.

     

    Sound and angst because Mumbai Mirror isn’t an afternoon paper like Mid-Day, but they are kind-of in the same space. So the switch will hurt Mid-Day much. And angst, because it’s sad to see Mid-Day lose Morparia just around the time when it was getting its act together.

     

    In a sense, the Mirror switch is a kind-of homecoming. He started out in the Times building in the late 1980s with The Evening News of India and then the Illustrated Weekly before doing daily toons for Bombay Times for nine years. And then in 2003, he shifted to Mid-Day. Another nine years later, he’s moved to Mumbai Mirror.

     

    I posed a few questions to Morparia on the move.

     

    1. So, why the switch from Mid-Day to Mumbai Mirror?

    > Some change of scene is always good, specially after nine years. It gives you a new audience and new space and new feedback. It helps to re-evaulate your own style and content. I was perfectly happy with Mid-Day, very pleasant people to work with and no problems with them at all. Happy memories with them. Sachin Kalbag is a friend and am saddened to leave.

     

    2. One of my peeves with Mid-Day was that your toon was all over the paper. How much is a fixed slot necessary for a pocket cartoon? Like Laxman had in ToI for years?

    > Ya, a fixed slot is a great attraction for a daily cartoonist, I would say a must. See, a daily cartoon is, or could become, a habit. If all over the place, it does not easily do so.

     

    3. Will we continue to see your toons in Time-Out and elsewhere?

    > Yes, I have only given the daily cartoon slot to the Mirror.

     

    4. So what’s more fun at this stage of your career: doing sonos and xrays, or tooning?

    > Well as I respond to you, I’m at the hospital, having just made a rare diagnosis on an emergency basis at 9pm on a Sunday. I did a sonography on a lady in pain, who just lost her father, two days ago. The diagnosis will be the key to whether she needs surgery or not. With this diagnosis, a surgery has been averted. That does give one satisfaction, undoubtedly. But it’s of a different type from the creative satisfaction that a making a cartoon gives. Creative satisfaction satisfies me first. And that is fun. Medicine and radiology are not fun, but are skills that can be learnt and honed. Being in two professions as different as these give one a sense of balance, proportion and some real-life perspective.

     

    5. Do you find the role of the cartoonist diminishing in the newspaper? There are more illustrations than cartoons offering commentary?

    > I think the reverse is true. Since we famously have a young population and young people enjoy humour, laughs, irreverence, visual stimulation and rebellion, then how can cartoons have a poor future? See how standup comedy has taken off in the country.

     

    6. How would you see cartooning shaping itself in the time of tablets and smartphones?

    > I don’t know. Probably an avenue for many cartoonists who don’t have the space provided by big publishers to access audiences directly and worldwide.

     

    Hmmm. Good to see Morparia welcoming newbies (and possible competition) to the business. Given the nine-year itch, guess the next change will be in 2021. 🙂

     

    Tweets of the weekend

    Until we find a permanent home for this and given that tweets from people across our business are perhaps the best way to keep tabs on what’s happening, here’s a sample of some gems that I picked over the weekend:

     

    Mahesh Murthy (@maheshmurthy): The most amazing discovery at @TimesNow #Foodie Awards? Arnab standing silently on the sidelines 🙂

     

    Satbir Singh (@thesatbir): In Goa, time passes so slowly you can almost hear it go hic hoc, hic hoc.

     

    Shishir Joshi (@joshishishir): What do you do whn a boss asks young reporter to pose as visiting actors fan since the office is falling short of crazy lovers of the star?

     

    Prabhu Chawla (@PrabhuChawla): Norway, gujrat porn gate, Coalgate makes it clear: Media just hypes a story and forgets a story behind such stories?

     

    Lynn de Souza (@lynndesouza): If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman. From Lokmat Women Summit at Pune this morning.

     

    Anant Rangaswami (@AnantRangaswami): Just to make you feel better on a Saturday morning. Petrol now costs 1.40 GB Pounds/litre in London….

     

    The Monday Psssst!

    Is there more freedom to journalists in newspapers or on news television? Well, the likelihood of stories getting killed before they are carried is huger in the papers given the lead time.

     

    Recently, a commentator in a much-read daily found that his/her column was not carried because it was negative on a key political leader. It may have been for the first time in many years, but the fact that a column was dropped from the commentator who is a reasonably sound name in the media was shocking. And by a newspaper which prides on its ethical way of doing things.

     

    So why am I not taking names? Well, I’m sworn to secrecy. The column in question has appeared elsewhere, and all will soon be forgotten.

     

  • Broadly speaking, there are two big problems: One, the award competitions are designed to honour the 'smart alecky' stuff rather than the effective stuff. And two, the suspicious quality of the judges.

    Anil Thakraney: How can things improve at ad awards?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    In my interview with Balki for MxMIndia, we discussed in detail his reluctance to take part in the industry award competitions. And he seems to make valid points. Broadly speaking, there are two big problems: One, the award competitions are designed to honour the ‘smart alecky’ stuff rather than the effective stuff. And two, the suspicious quality of the judges.

     

    I personally think both these issues can be dealt with if the organizers have the will to make things better, and more importantly, are ready to set their egos aside. These improvements will only make the awards a bit more worthy than they currently are.

     

    Let’s first examine the parameters for judging. Every entry must clearly spell out what the marketing problem was and how the campaign/advert helped solve it. This should be backed by credible facts and figures, and must carry comments/feedback from the concerned brand manager. Half the score must be reserved for this. As in, did the ad manage to meet the desired marketing objectives? The rest 50% of the marks must be awarded on how interestingly the message was communicated. This is where judges can be allowed to be subjective, and must reward only those ads which they believe achieved creative excellence. Though time consuming and tedious, this approach makes sense to me since advertising isn’t pure art, unlike poetry or painting. It’s commercial art. There is no use of pretty imagery if the brand went down the tube.

     

    Two, the judges. No current creative director must be allowed on the jury. This will eliminate the slimy agenda of some, who seize the opportunity to negate the chances of a rival’s ad winning. (By the way, this keeps happening all the time.) The jury must only consist of ace marketing directors who are reputed to have built brands or turned some around in their careers. And retired agency creative directors who are admired for the sparkling work they did during their days in advertising. The doyens who most industry professionals revere. Alyque Padamsee and Mohammed Khan come to mind immediately.

     

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VJJOfSVViw[/youtube]

    In short, I think things can be changed if people WANT them to be changed. Balki has made important points. Hope the industry leaders are paying some attention.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Must watch. Not just for those ad industry leaders who are past their sell-by dates, but all oldies in any sphere of work. People who continue to hang around, unsure of when to move on. (In fact, I think one Sachin Tendulkar must watch it too.) It’s based on the farewell speech made by Leo Burnett in 1967 upon his retirement.

     

  • There is a little humour, a little emotion, a little slice of life, but on the whole the campaign stays in the average zone.

    Debrief: IPL: Chalta hai

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Television is abuzz with the oncoming IPL 5 nautanki. And there are a zillion commercials on the air. Before I discuss the ads, can’t help but state that I detest this tournament. I always have and I always will. IPL adds little value to Indian cricket, but deducts a lot. Having got that off my chest, let’s get to the task at hand.

     

    The idea this time is pretty obvious: IPL brings the entire family together. There is no fresh consumer insight out here, the world and its father already knows that apart from the men in the house, aunties, bhabhies, toddlers and Moti, the dog, also like to watch this tamasha. With no sensational insight, it’s then left to the execution to hold the fort.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXQsIgN_530[/youtube]

    I watched a few films, and must say that in general, the creative fails to shine. There is a little humour, a little emotion, a little slice of life, but on the whole the campaign stays in the average zone. Having said that, one particular commercial did appeal to me, and I found it quite funny. And so that’s the commercial I am linking out here. Also, because I am in a good mood today, I shall rate the entire campaign based on this one ad. It’s about two gents having to bond when they have absolutely nothing in common with each other, and are on a totally different trip. Good one. Haven’t we all been stuck in such situations? Yep, in such a scenario, despite all its shortcomings, indeed the IPL becomes god-sent!

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3. Humour not exploited enough.