MxMIndia

Category: BLOGS

  • While many theories are being belted out on this subject, I am entirely convinced it is the media and marketing in India which is behind the poor show of the Indian team

    Anil Thakraney: mxmindia to blame for cricket debacle!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Haha. I am sure the editor-in-chief of this portal had a minor heart attack when he read this headline. Sorry Pradyuman, couldn’t resist it! The point is: While many theories are being belted out on this subject, I am entirely convinced it is the media and marketing in India which is behind the poor show of the Indian team.

     

    Let me explain: Regular readers of this blog might remember my post in March this year, on Virat Kohli, after the young man’s excellent test cricket performance in Australia. In a nutshell, this is what I had warned about: Imagine the excitement inside corporate boardrooms as brand managers salivate at the prospect of signing multimillion 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. Too much adulation and quick riches can 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.

     

    Well, no one listened to me (as usual!), and Virat already looks like a pale shadow of himself. And indeed this is the malaise with the entire Indian team. It’s foolish blaming the IPL for all the problems because international cricketers also play that format, but it hasn’t affected their test cricket skills. It’s a clear case of loss of appetite for success. When you are already being worshipped in the media, if you are already signing lucrative endorsements deals, why would you crave to do better on the cricket ground, why would you push yourself hard?

     

    I think Indian cricket is paying a huge price for the obsession this nation has with celebrity. We don’t give people time to evolve, we don’t give them time to showcase their real talents, even minor performers quickly become stars. As an example, consider the case of starlets like Sonakshi Sinha and Parineeti Chopra. A couple of films down the line, and they are already in the glossies and in the ads. This is a recipe for disaster.

     

    It’s easy to see many careers have been damaged due to premature attention. The same thing will happen to Cheteshwar Pujara, and frankly, I see no way out of this morass. Our cricket team is destined to be inconsistent; we have to live with that. And it’s we who are to blame for this.

     

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    PS: For fashionable women, landing up at a Page 3 party in the same dress as another guest can be a disaster. This emotion is captured very well in this Harvey Nichols ad. Sure, some women can even get murderous in this situation. Enjoy!

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWxK4ZqW4tw[/youtube]

     

     

  • Not quite the end of the world, but Dec 19 means the advent of figures and data and head-scratching for number crunchers. TAM time approaches!

    The Anchor: 4 reasons why it’s the last Wednesday many of us can have fun

    By A N Chorrea

     

    Chill, next Wednesday is December 19 and all those theories about the world plunging into darkness etc can be reserved for the 21st.

     

    So why is this the last Wednesday for fun?

     

    #1 Note the date next Wednesday: December 19. That’s when TAM ratings will come alive once again.

     

    #2 This article ought to have appeared yesterday. Folks, last night was your last Tuesday night of fun… don’t expect similar luxuries to happen again

     

    #3 Not just Wednesday, you may as well tell the family that the weekend of Dec 22-23 will be spent crunching numbers, and analyzing data for the last two-odd months

     

    #4 It’s not the last Wednesday of fun for broadcasters, media agencies and the folk at TAM, but also the entire ecosystem. Beat journalists who have to interpret stories. PR agencies who will need to figure new talking points for their TV clients. Advertising agencies who may be required to work overtime to capture mailers and magazine ads. Even IT and admin departments as they’ll need to ensure the machines are working fine and the printer toners are refilled. Accounts department to reimburse the late night food and taxi bills… phew!

     

    Surely, there’s someone out there at the Mumbai headquarters of TAM Media Research laughing out loud: Yeh TAM TAM ki baat hai! Meanwhile, enjoy the next six days!

     

    A N Chorrea is a senior industryperson writing under a pseudonym

     

  • This is more like regular candy advertising, and if children overdose on Hajmola, is that such a good thing from the point of view of health?

    Debrief: Hajmola: Devgn hazam nahin hua!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Hajmola is just another of the many, many brands that cannot do without riding on a celeb’s shoulders. Oh well, such is ad life in India! But one good thing they have done this time is to cast an unusual celeb. That at least promises to bring some novelty to the ad. Macho star Ajay Devgn (his spelling, not mine) has been signed up to do the honours.

     

    However, the manner in which they have used him is all wrong, clearly someone wasn’t thinking out here. It’s a wedding set, with all the accompanying noise and action. Yet another take-off from ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’. Devgn is seen playing the harmonium (aren’t movie stars paid to dance at weddings?), and he suddenly spots a kid carrying a Hajmola bottle. Our hero chases him all over the place, and this nonsense goes on.

     

    I have two problems. One, Hajmola is a digestive, and this factor seems to have been totally downplayed in this communication. This is more like regular candy advertising, and if children overdose on Hajmola, is that such a good thing from the point of view of health? Needs to be checked out. Secondly, the brand hasn’t bothered to build on Devgn’s popular public persona of a tough guy with balls. Instead, he’s been made to play a bumbling bumpkin out here. So then why use him at all? They may as well have signed up Paresh Rawal or any of the other movie comedians, who would have come at a much lower cost.

     

    In short, the casting is poor and the treatment very boring. Even when I put myself in the shoes of the sort of people who would consume Hajmola.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko4OqIRZ8W4[/youtube]

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 1. Devgn wasted in a forgettable ad.

     

  • What message will the redesign convey?

    The Anchor: 5 things brands must keep in mind while opting for a logo/design change

    By Rajesh Varma

     

    Times change, people change, and outlooks change too. Things which were contemporary yesterday are passe today. Hence, to walk with changing trends, logo redesigning becomes obvious. While redesigning our logo, we should keep the following things in mind:

     

    Storytelling:

    A logo should tell a story. About the activities of the company. What they are into? The over all personality of the brand should be conveyed through its logo.  A brand could be sober, a brand could be jazzy, it could be serious or cool, and there is a long list of personality types a brand can pick from.

     

    Similarly, logo also defines business. This brand is all about educational endeavours, that one is all about creative industry, I do this and you do that. Consequently, while redesigning a logo one should script a story very prudently.

     

    Simplicity:

    A logo should be simple. A simple logo design allows for easy recognition and allows the logo to be notable.

     

    Positioning:

    A logo should establish a clear brand positioning. Like “We are Dynamic and flexible.” The logo should create a brand offer in such a manner that it occupies a distinctive place and value in the customer’s mind.

     

    Versatility:

    An effective logo should be able to work across a variety of mediums and applications. A logo should be such that it can be scaled to any size. The logo should be able to work in all formats.

     

    Uniqueness:

    A logo is an identity. It expresses individuality. Therefore, it should be unique. Like human face, it’s the face of a company. One should recognize it as a different identity from others.

     

    Rajesh Varma is Founder Director at CRI Events

     

  • Some recent examples indicate to me that our newspapers and news magazines are still in a state of slumber. This must change very fast if print wishes to be around for a longer time than expected

    Anil Thakraney: Lazy Indian print media

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    One would imagine that the print media in India is on the ball in an effort to put out fresh content. Now that the internet is very busy writing its obituary. But some recent examples indicate to me that our newspapers and news magazines are still in a state of slumber. This must change very fast if print wishes to be around for a longer time than expected.

     

    First, the magazines. I was completely disappointed by the manner in which Thackeray’s death and Kasab’s hanging was covered by the news mags. The editors might well have been aware that both the stories had already been sucked bone dry by the internet and later by television and newspapers, and they had been covered from every possible angle. What was therefore needed was some serious creativity from the magazine desk to supply red hot content to their readers. Instead, the same old stuff was regurgitated, the same people were asked to write the same opinions, even the already overused pictures were repeated. Absolutely no attempt was on display to tell us that the editors were trying to think differently. This is amazing, really. Isn’t the death of Newsweek a shrill alarm bell for these people to get their act together?

     

    And today morning as I write this post (Thursday), I can’t help but feel that the ‘glowing’ tributes in the daily newspapers to Pandit Ravi Shankar were hastily put together, only because the story had to be covered. I can even visualize the editor quickly deciding on the person in the team most likely to know a bit about music, and then ordering him/her with this: “Listen, put a huge spread together. Get some quick quotes and write the biography’. And, of course, the result was dull and boring. No new insights on the legendary man, no interesting copy… a crime when you consider that the man lived a totally happening life on both, personal and professional front. These were like huge obit ads disguised as rich tributes.

     

    Now compare the Indian work with this extremely interesting tribute to the musician in the New York Times. (See link below.) And you’ll get an idea of the lethargy that pervades our print newsrooms. Lethargy that shall one day cause the desi print media’s premature demise.

     

    http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/arts/music/ravi-shankar-indian-sitarist-dies-at-92.xml

     

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    PS: And as if to push the hurtful point further, here’s a fantastic letter contributed by a reader in the British Guardian. Even this little prose tells us much more about the master than all the tripe we read in our dailies. Time to wake up and smell the coffee, people.

     

     

  • Winter's here, and it's not just your colleague's runny nose saying so. A N Chorrea lists 'cold signals' that the media sends out

    The Anchor: 7 telltale signs in the media that winter’s arrived

    By A N Chorrea

     

    #1 At least three newspapers have a human interest story on the Tibetans/whosover selling woolens on the footpaths/roads (one of the headlines would read: ‘The Tibetans who came in for the cold’ or some such).

     

    #2 Some good, but many tackily done ads for winterwear start appearing on all channels.

     

    #3 Cold cream ads start appearing on television.

    #4 Reporters and the met department bring out their winter stats to figure which is the coldest day in x years (at least one headline of an English paper would say: Brrrrrrrr!)

     

    #5 Studio guests and panelists on various nightly shows on News TV will start wearing fancy jackets and scarves. In warmer climes, viewers wonder why this heavyduty layering.

     

    #6 At least once in the next few months, the Sunday papers have winter recipes or at least celebrating the seasonal stuff. And this exists across the country – not just the north or the cooler spots. Undhiyu in Gujarat, Gajar ka Halwa in the north. Yummmm!

    And finally:

     

    #7 Flights in various parts of the country are delayed due to fog and this naturally makes for top news on channels and the papers.

     

    A N Chorrea is a senior media-watcher writing under a pseudonym

     

  • Why don’t TV channels in the US come together and launch a high-decibel, sustained campaign against the open retail of guns in the marketplace? Why not use the power of the media to make this happen?

    Anil Thakraney: Media campaign on gun control

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Before I come to the point, I have to say I was appalled by the images of some US TV anchors interviewing kids who’d survived the gun massacre. This is completely not on. These bachchas had just been emotionally scarred for life, and they ought to have been left alone with their parents. This tells you even in the developed world there’s huge scope for improvement in the media. Had such a thing happened in India, we would have skewered our anchors/reporters.

     

    Anyway, onto the topic for today: Gun control in the US. I won’t go into the political details on this issue, everyone knows the story inside out. It’s very clear that the US netas won’t allow gun control in their nation because of populist reasons, and therefore shootings of the innocent will simply go on. Very sadly, it’s become a bi-monthly feature these days. (By the way, the Islamic terrorists must be laughing their guts out… their ‘hard work’ is being dutifully done by a few deranged US citizens.).

     

    Now, one appreciable thing our TV stations do now and then is to launch public interest campaigns for justice or for social/legal change. These campaigns are often urban-centric in nature (remember Justice For Jessica Lal?), and they are usually effective, or at least some of them are. This gave me an idea: Why don’t TV channels in the US come together and launch a high-decibel, sustained campaign against the open retail of guns in the marketplace? They are well aware the political parties won’t take any action on their own, therefore why not use the power of the media to make this happen? In any case the American public is divided on this burning issue, and therefore interference from the media becomes vital.

     

    And frankly speaking, I see no other way out of this bloody mess. Because left under the rotting carpet, these dirty rats will now and then kill innocent people. And all that the US Presidents will do is weep on national television, spew out a little sympathy, and then maintain status quo. We have a lot to learn from the firang media, but this is one leaf they should borrow from our chapter.

     

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    PS: Here’s a list of tech ads of 2012 that went viral. Samsung scores the highest points, and that’s bad news for Apple. Anyway, do watch these. Will give you a good idea of the sort of videos that get most watched on the internet.

    Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/07/most-viral-tech-ads-2012_n_2258613.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003#slide=1854942

     

  • Avik Prabhu lists five growth challenges that the events and experiential marketing industry in India still faces

    The Anchor: 5 growth challenges for Events & Experiential Mktng biz

    By Avik Prabhu

     

    In my opinion, the following are the five key growth challenges that our industry still faces in India:

     

    People
    We find it hard to find trained professionals with the skills necessary to deliver consistent events in a professional manner.

     

    Processes
    An ability to put processes in place in order to effectively and efficiently manage the life-cycle of an event as well as internal functioning of a growing agency.

     

    Profits
    Erosion of profit margins is another strong hindrance to growth, driven by pure execution agencies that are prepared to reduce fees to capture business.

     

    Quality
    To maintain consistency in the quality of ideas generated, the effective communication of those ideas and the delivery of those ideas.

     

    Legal Aspects
    To grow effectively, we must make it a habit to issue and then adhere to contracts for all the events that we do.

     

    Avik Prabhu is Executive Director, Showtime Events (India) Pvt Ltd

     

  • I like Tata Docomo's 'incomplete stories' idea. It has the potential to be a long-term campaign, with possibilities of riveting creative work

    Debrief: Tata Docomo: Incomplete stories. Complete ads

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I like Tata Docomo’s ‘incomplete stories’ idea. It has the potential to be a long-term campaign, with possibilities of riveting creative work. There are a number of commercials on air, each one offering a particular solution. If there’s one little grouse I have, it’s that the ads aren’t consistently good, they need to correct this.

     

    The latest one features a man applying lipstick in front of a mirror. This very unusual situation naturally captivates the attention. Is he gay? Has he lost his marbles? Is he pushing the envelope on metro-sexuality? As questions arise in the mind, we discover he’s a clown getting decked up for his next act. Good one. And the good thing is you won’t get bored even on repeat exposure. This idea also gives Tata Docomo ads a unique character in a highly cluttered mobile phone segment.

     

    But the ad I enjoy most is the one for Tata Docomo’s Unlimited 3G Data. This one features an obviously depraved man leching at a girl inside the elevator. The girl, of course, looks pretty unnerved, and when the lift conks out, she panics. But we later discover the lech is actually a frightened chicken, as he desperately tries to bash the elevator door open. I have watched this ad plenty of times, and it never ceases to be funny. However, please allow me to be a little bitchy here, am in that sort of a mood. Methinks the lecherous dude discovers the babe is a transvestite, haha! Okay, okay, dear feminists, please take it easy, am only kidding!

     

    Jokes apart, it’s a good campaign. Lambi race wali.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QAfnUH1g1Y[/youtube]

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 3. Very campaignable idea. Needs consistency.

     

  • Assumption being, well, assumed to be the mother of all screwups, that's where the stumbling often begins

    The Anchor: 5 errors brands made on social media in 2012

    By Rajiv Dingra

     

    #1 The brands assumed that everything that works offline also works online. Just because you might have a sexy campaign offline, does not imply that it will remain sexy on social media.

     

    #2 Purely looking at marketing, and not looking at social media as a customer-relationship medium.

     

    #3 Focusing more on content more than communication. There is too much focus on gifts, contests and participation, with very little focus on what message is being passed through.

     

    #4 Inability to differentiate between customers and users. There are people who come to your fan page and ask serious queries about products. But we are chasing numbers of fans instead of individually replying to those customers.

     

    #5 Larger number of fans or spread of platforms does not mean presence on social media. Social media is as good as your last update, or campaign, or how it engages the fans. Social media is an ongoing daily effort to be responsive, interactive. Presence on platforms does not imply that you are doing social media.

     

    Constant innovation, and constant upgradation, is the need of the hour.

     

    Rajiv Dingra is CEO of WATConsult.com

     

  • Whether it's a rape or a robbery, the first instinct in India is to jump to whodunit before even figuring out what was done, notes Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: TV journos must get info first, blame later

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    One more terrible school shooting in the US last Friday and the nation must have wanted answers but rather than hysterical screaming – on CNN at least – there was first only reporting on the incident. Somewhere TV journalists in India have to master the art of getting information first and apportioning blame later. Unfortunately, whether it’s a rape or a robbery, the first instinct in India is to jump to whodunit before even figuring out what was done. To be fair, when the Norway blast and killings happened, the venerable BBC made the same mistake. Soon after the incidents were first reported, the channel had experts on air telling us which Islamic terrorist group was responsible. Although it was smeared all over, the channel did not really admit that it had egg on its face when far right extremist Anders Breivik was caught.

     

    The difficulties for TV in reporting a live event are obvious. It was clear even from CNN’s reporting that it was making a conscious effort not to intrude on to people’s private grief – lessons learnt presumably after years of being frowned on by an angry audience. What was also evident is the important role played by local cable networks in providing initial reporting inputs. We still operate on a national scale in India although some language channels fulfill the local role.

     

    As far as the rest of the world was and is concerned, the America’s reluctance to submit itself to any gun control remains a topic of astonishment and debate in every forum.

     

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    In spite of all the predictions gone wrong as far as election opinion polls are concerned in India over the last decade, every TV channel and pollster jumped into the act as voting in the Gujarat assembly elections drew to a close. So depending on who you believe, incumbent chief minister Narendra Modi is going to win by a massive majority to a middling majority to a tiny majority. Talk about covering your bases.

     

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    The arrival and subsequent pronouncements of Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik sent Indian television into a tizzy. Why is he here, what is he saying, why is he saying what he’s saying, does he mean what he’s saying, do we know why he’s saying what he’s saying, do we believe what he’s saying, do we want him here at all, what would we eat for breakfast if he wasn’t here and so on.

     

    It’s a little early for yearender awards, but the understatement of the year has to go to academic Radha Kumar on I forget which TV channel for informing us that India and Pakistan have had a turbulent relationship for years. What can one say but thank you for enlightening us?

     

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    Newspapers come late in Dehra Dun so am looking forward to reading the obituaries of Indian cricket after India lost its first series at home to England after 4000 years. Assuming the world doesn’t end on December 21, I predict that after the One Day series with Pakistan and England, we may be singing a song less like a funeral dirge.

     

  • This is what usually happens after crimes of rape. Another juicy story will grab the imagination, the trial of the accused will go on for years, and the nation will move on. The debates will re-start when the next attack happens. In short, a whole lot of sound, but of little value

    Anil Thakraney: Feeding frenzy over rape

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    And so, another horrific rape has happened in Delhi. And the media has gone into an overdrive, as the channels try to outdo each other on the frenzy scale. Panelists are shouting, anchors are hollering, and this has led to parliamentarians taking a break from FDI and quotas, and diving into the rape debate. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj has asked for death penalty for the rapists, completely ignoring the fact that India is reluctant to hang convicted terrorists. And of course, the activists can’t be left far behind. Morchas are being planned on the streets. Even Arvind Kejriwal decided to forget corruption for a day, and he’s joined in the act. All very well. But you know what? Nothing will come out of all this shor sharaba.

     

    One, because after the dust has settled, the media will forget all about this incident. This is what usually happens after crimes of rape. Another juicy story will grab the imagination, the trial of the accused will go on for years, and the nation will move on. The debates will re-start when the next attack happens. In short, a whole lot of sound, but of little value.

     

    Secondly, the main reason why rapes continue is the medieval mindset of the average Indian male. As long as we live in a patriarchal society, where the male head of the house sets the agenda, this crime will simply carry on. And for the hard-core buggers, even the possibility of life imprisonment won’t be a deterrent. It could take centuries for this mindset to change, we cannot allow rapes to go on. Our scientists, doctors and creative people need to figure out a way around this problem, we need lateral solutions. In South Africa, a medical technician has developed a product called RAPEX. It’s shaped like a tube and is embedded with barbs. The woman inserts it like a tampon, and any man who tries to rape her gets his organ stuck into these barbs. We need innovative ideas like this.

     

    And this is the sort of stuff the media should encourage and promote. Screaming and shouting on prime time TV is of no use in this matter. By the way, I write this piece on the evening of Tuesday. And have consumed a higher dose of BP tablets to deal with Arnab’s rage on rape.

     

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    PS: Speaking of rape, here’s an ad gone all wrong. Virgin Mobile is known for quirky work, but sometimes creative people can cross the thin line. A US ad has tried to make fun of rape. Even the otherwise edgy Sir Richard Branson was compelled to apologise following outrage in the social media.