MxMIndia

Category: BLOGS

  • One Big Idea by Nikhil Gandhi: Streamlining choices for a crowded mindspace

    By Nikhil Gandhi, Executive Director, Youth Channels, Medianetworks Disney UTV

     

    The discerning Indian youth audience is confident and informed. They are articulate about their preferences and choose to engage with preferred brands, with a choice of content across multiple platforms and touch points. If you see the media engagement of a young Indian’s life today, he is exposed to 24 hours of communication and brand engagement which occupies his mindspace for attention.

     

    In such a scenario, any player in the youth segment needs to move beyond just the television numbers game. In fact, we as a youth brand need to seek out what they want, when and where they want it and be able to provide it exactly there. Working on this insight has been the ‘big idea’ which has the potential to catapult youth brands into the target audience’s consideration set faster than ever before.

     

    Be it compelling content on TV, engagement on the web and mobile, rendezvous at live experiences correlated to their points of interest like music, celebrities, youth icons – everything needs an extensive, exciting and engaging with a 360-degree presence.

     

    At Bindass, our constant research over the years has enabled us to delve deep into the fabric of young India and understand their fundamental tastes and preferences and changing trends. We have been able to create a youth brand which engages with them with a purpose. This means extending the bindass experience across platforms through innovative concepts like Chikipedia on the web, cutting edge show formats like Big Switch, Superdude, Emotional Atyachaar etc on TV, hi-octane live music events/concerts with exposure to international and popular local artists like Enrique Iglesias, Lady Gaga, David Guetta and much more. Also taking the experience across to the campus with properties like Bindass Buddies & Campus Attack.

     

    The same philosophy also extends to our Bollywood brand UTV Stars. The brand was launched with a view to create exceptional Bollywood content and get the viewer closer to their icons. Within less than a year of launch, UTV Stars has made inroads into the web and ‘on-ground’ space in a big way via prestigious associations with People Magazine, Cosmopolitan Fun Fearless Awards, Lap Buddh Circuit After Parties and launching its first on-ground IP, the iconic Walk of the Stars! The brand is poised to become the ultimate Bollywood destination online with 45 mn+ video views on YouTube and 6 hundred thousand fans on facebook in less than a year.
    The youth of today are influencers of change and the ‘mantra’ is to create impact and influence them across mediums they prefer to engage in.

     

  • The star must take the Supreme Court verdict on the chin, and prepare himself for some jail time

    Anil Thakraney: The Sanjay Dutt road show

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I know it sounds a bit harsh to say this, but I am glad the Sanjay Dutt crime saga has come to an end. It has been going on for twenty long years, and frankly, it’s gotten really boring now. The star must take the Supreme Court verdict on the chin, and prepare himself for some jail time. Crime was committed (it’s irrelevant whether Dutt was involved innocently or otherwise), and therefore there must be punishment. And who knows, he could be let off much sooner than three and a half years on account of ‘good behaviour’, and there’s always his sweet MP sister around to keep the Dutt family flag flying.

     

    As for the hectic media coverage yesterday, the same, established template came into operation: TV reporters dutifully parked themselves outside the star’s Pali Hill residence, all busy speculating, as the man wouldn’t speak to them. Some Hindi channels gladly fished out eerie footage of the 1993 blasts. Any legal mind who was willing to speak was chased for a sound byte. Entertainment journos were consulted on the likely losses to Bollywood. And of course, movie people queued up to express their intense grief. These days these bleeding hearts vent on Twitter as well, which is the only real change that’s happened in twenty years. I write this post in the evening, and am sure the 9PM TV debates will also work on the same template. The usual bunch of TV suspects will be called to shower us with pearls of wisdom. It’s the Sanjay Dutt script we are all so familiar with.

     

    And to be fair, one really can’t blame the TV channels. What else can you do but follow the set diagram? Nothing has changed in terms of the facts of the case, so you can’t possibly invent a new angle, even if you tried. Am quite certain that secretly, all the journalists must be happy this is finally done and dusted, regurgitating the same stuff over and over again can get very tedious.

     

    Before I sign off, I must state for the record that I have spent some time with Sanjay Dutt, and I can tell you he has a good heart. But that’s of no consequence when it comes to law and order. All his fans must accept this and move on.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Incidentally, here’s the column I wrote for Mumbai Mirror when Dutt was convicted by the TADA court, back in the year 2007. Six years later, I have EXACTLY the same things to say to the convicted star. Yes, I am part of the same media template, this story’s gone on for so damn long!

     

    Link: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/53/200708010308471561291c80b/Kudos-to-Kode.html?pageno=14

     

  • One Big Idea by Supriyo Sinha: Going micro, beyond metros

    By Supriyo Sinha, Vice President, Bengali Dailies, ABP

     

    Over the next few years, advertisers will see discontinuous value in print advertising through micromarketing in locations beyond the metros. There are three main reasons that will drive this discontinuity:

     

    (a) Advertisers are increasingly looking at tier 2/3 and semi-urban locations for the next wave of growth in India, (b) while metro locations have a large penetration of alternate advertising media, e.g., TV, FM radio, print, etc, tier 2/3 and semi-urban locations have a predominance of print, (c) this predominance will continue for a reasonably long time in these locations – some of the factors that have driven the drop in print advertising in the Western markets, e.g. internet penetration, web-literacy etc., are reasonably behind in the tier 2/3 locations (in relative terms with respect to metros). In addition, vernacular print medium will enjoy a special advantage, since in the semi-urban and tier 2/3 locations vernacular has a stronger bond than English.

     

    In order to capture this opportunity, print players have to develop some important enablers: (a) develop customised location-specific content to engage readers of that location and (b) build advertising sales teams that are equipped to penetrate the real micromarkets.

     

    Such a proposition will be a winning formula for advertisers – both national/MNC and local. While large national/MNC advertisers will get the next wave of growth from such a play, small/ medium local advertisers will have a much ‘closer’ view of the returns they get from their advertising buck. Beyond just the brand building and sales value, advertisers will increasingly be able to get a real pulse of the consumers in these markets through the print medium (which remains the most widespread communication medium in these locations).

     

    Go beyond the metros. Go micro. That’s the winning formula for print advertising!

     

  • Had the media not raised a hue and cry, these murderers were lost to us forever, there's no way the government would have negotiated furiously with their Italian counterparts to find a way to get these doods back. A pat on the back is in order, and am hoping it comes from the usually sleepy PM

    Anil Thakraney | Credit for return of marines must go to media

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Some observations on the two big stories of last week. One, as the government (and strangely the opposition party!) takes credit for the return of the killer Italian marines, no one should forget the role played by the Indian media. In fact, in my books, this is the media’s victory, another feather in the cap. Had the media not raised a hue and cry, these murderers were lost to us forever, there’s no way the government would have negotiated furiously with their Italian counterparts to find a way to get these doods back. A pat on the back is in order, and am hoping it comes from the usually sleepy PM. A side-note on this issue: The marines will live a life of luxury inside their embassy, right till the trial is over. After conviction, which will quite obviously result in a jail term for a few years, they’ll fly to Italy to serve the sentence out there. Wow, how very cool! Wonder who’s having the last laugh in this tragic tale.

     

    Two, despite the boredom I expressed with the Sanjay Dutt saga (read my Friday post), the caravan is chugging along merrily. Bollywood’s PR machinery, now that the frat has discovered the ‘pardon’ option, is in overdrive. They are determined to see that baba never goes to jail again. Of course, these filmi types wouldn’t care for the long term impact of this on the nation’s collective psyche, that’s not their problem. But Justice Katju leaping to the rescue of the criminal star is nothing less than shocking. The retired judge, in his infinite wisdom, forgot that influential people such as himself must stand up for the weak and the deprived. Not for those who are already rich and already well connected. Not sure if Katju realizes this, but his emergence as a huge fan of Sanju baba has dealt a body blow to his own credibility.

     

    One other thing: I saw Katju speak very rudely with NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan and CNN IBN’s Bhupendra Chaubey, when the TV anchors were grilling him over the Dutt pardon issue. Both the journos maintained their composure in the face of what was nothing short of live television humiliation. In fact, Katju even questioned Razdan’s anchoring abilities! To be honest, my blood was on the boil just watching all this go on, full marks to these guys for taking it all so calmly. I do hope to meet Justice Katju someday. Up close.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Must say I am disappointed with the ‘new’ Anandi in Balika Vadhu (Colors). It’s my favourite daily serial, and the producers usually get the casting bang-on. In all these years this must be the first time they’ve got it wrong. The new maiden lacks distinctive character on her face, as also the gravitas required for this particular role. She’s just another pleasant TV face, the sort we encounter in every single soap. Sad.

  • The economics of the broadcast business would not hold up for very long anywhere if there was 'unlimited inventory' in any market and this is one of the reasons the economics of the broadcasting industry in India is so weak

    Peter Mukerjea’s Media Mullings: Less is More!

    By Peter Mukerjea

     

    So, is it a surprise that broadcasters are unhappy with the TRAI for enforcing the 10+2 per hour of commercial time on TV channels?

     

    Short-term pain for long-term gain in simple terms is what it will be. But no one wants short-term pain.

     

    Many of my friends in the broadcast industry are up in arms about this ruling, but when we talk about this, to be fair, they do conclude that it is actually the right thing to do for their business. After all, it will see the advertising rates go up, which will benefit their individual revenue lines and their shareholders in turn. Once the 10+2 regulation sets in and becomes standard operating principle, investors both national and international will re-look at the Indian broadcast industry as an investment opportunity. They will see that the supply-demand ratio is finite and not infinite as it is today. Infinite makes no ‘big picture’ sense.

     

    Advertisers, brand managers, small, medium and large will not like the sound of this 10+2 directive either, as it will mean that they will need to increase their TV budgets if they want to continue to get the same ‘secondage’ as they’re getting today. There just won’t be enough ‘secondage’ to go round and advertisers could get into a bidding war for the best TV properties. But the flip side to that is that they will get a secure share of voice. Surely advertisers see more value in their brands being 1/20 than being 1/30. And, if they tell you they don’t care about that, then that’s the biggest load of rubbish you will hear and you can’t let them get away with that.

     

    And all credit to the TRAI who have now really begun to act like the regulator it should be ie to look at the big picture – digitization, commercial time, quality of service and so on – but not get drawn into the itsy bitsy litigation attempts of the various stakeholders in the business.

     

    There cannot be a single broadcast market anywhere in the grown-up world, where there is ‘unlimited inventory’ of commercial time available to broadcasters. The economics of the broadcast business would not hold up for very long anywhere if there was ‘unlimited inventory’ in any market and surely this is one of the reasons the economics of the broadcasting industry in India is so weak and will not improve so long as it continues with broadcasters taking more ads into their programmes/movies at the expense of the quality of service to the viewers.

     

    And why should sports be an exception to the rule? The ad usage will need to be modified to cater to the differing nature of each sport, as tennis differs from cricket and from football or F1, but the 10+2 rule should stay the same.

     

    All promo tags, bumpers, drop-downs, split screens are all possible so long as they stay within the 10+2 guideline. It’s not that difficult. Of course broadcasters will resist. Someone once said – “Resistance after all, is the best form of seduction.”

     

    In the final analysis of broadcasters’ economic sustainability, growth and profitability, the adage “less is more” will ring true and makes sense for all broadcasters but the faint-hearted or the economically very weak as they will simply not survive, in a survival-of-the-fittest environment.

     

    They will simply have to get better at what they do and compete, or fall over and get out of the business.

     

  • You have to be crazy to even imagine that the multi billionaire Ms Chopra would ride a lowly scooter. I know her job in an ad is to look pretty and get the eyeballs, but shouldn't these guys pay at least a modicum of attention to credibility?

    Debrief: Hero Pleasure: Mindless celeb advertising

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    If you are looking for an example of totally daft celebrity-based advertising, then you are at the right place. Hero Pleasure is a ladies-only scooter, and the advertiser asks the right question: Why should boys have all the fun? Indeed why. But in response, you don’t get to hear an interesting answer. What you get instead is Ms Priyanka Chopra! Yikes!

     

    So the mega star cheerfully rides around town on her Hero Pleasure (no one recognises her, of course). She ends up shaking at a happening party with her dad (more yikes!), and makes fun of a chap whose mom is pissed off because he’s out late. Not only is the ad dull, it’s mighty stupid.

     

    But the bigger problem is in the casting. You have to be crazy to even imagine that the multi billionaire Ms Chopra would ride a lowly scooter. I know her job in an ad is to look pretty and get the eyeballs, but shouldn’t these guys pay at least a modicum of attention to credibility? Even if they HAD to use a movie star, why not cast a younger, fresher face, and someone whose personality matches with the brand. To my mind, the solution lies inside Chopra’s own household, her niece Parineeti Chopra. The way the latter has carefully crafted her feisty persona, she appears like someone who might enjoy the odd scooty night out. And because she’s a newcomer, the credibility factor gets some weight.

     

    And the ‘pretty face for attention’ theory doesn’t wash with Priyanka Chopra as she’s endorsing a hundred other brands. You have to wonder if some advertisers even bother to apply their minds before signing huge cheques in the name of the usual celebs.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB63G54LuaM[/youtube]

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 0. Very poor casting. Boring creative.

     

  • One Big Idea by Colin Lawrence: Thirst for info in an age of changing geo-pol coords

    By Colin Lawrence, Director of Distribution, BBC Global News Ltd

     

    “Persistent questioning and healthy inquisitiveness are the first requisite for acquiring learning of any kind.”
    – Mahatma Gandhi

     

    Certainly a big idea but not a new one! I’m afraid Mahatma Gandhi got there first. As India cements its position as a dynamic emergent economy, global competition for capital, consumers and knowledge has never been greater. As a global news provider, the BBC’s values and ambitions in delivering trusted and impartial international news and insight have never been greater. Enabling our viewers to live the story through original authored journalism, and providing them with the narrative to the rapidly evolving and changing geo-political environment around them.

     

    We are now focusing on making that information available to our Indian audiences, on television, radio and online, and not surprisingly, those audiences are growing.
    According to the latest Ipsos PAX survey (Q2 2012), BBC World News is the top English news channel in India among affluent viewers, and when compared against both international and domestic news channels in India, it is the #1 news channel among India’s top executives, BDMs, investors, travellers and tech-savvy young Indians.
    Viewers in India will have much to look forward to when BBC World News moves to its new base in Central London in the upcoming months. New HD studios, dynamic presentation and state of the art graphics will showcase the BBC’s established journalistic credentials in an engaging and compelling way.

     

    Our business is cutting through the hubris and hyperbole of headline news, to provide the depth, rigour and insight we all need.

     

  • Most newspapers barring TOI fell short as they have got rid of (or refuse to hire) anyone below the age of 45, rues Ranjona Banerji while commenting on the treatment of the Supreme Court ruling of the 1993 Mumbai blasts. Plus: jottings on the Hindu editor Siddharth Vardarajan's clarification on IIPM's claims, Alan Rusbridger's Press Club session… and more!

    Ranjona Banerji: Sad, as newswallahs have a blast over Dutt

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    As expected the whole news cycle became about film star Sanjay Dutt after the Supreme Court ruled on the sentences handed out in the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts case. Never mind that 257 people died in the serial blasts or that over 700 were injured or that this was the worst such attack the country had ever seen until then or that the blasts were a reaction to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the riots that followed. What can all that matter when a film star’s conviction was upheld?

     

    There was little new there either – Dutt had been given six years by the TADA court in 2006 which was upheld by the Bombay High Court and now the SC had reduced it to five years. The chance of a pardon was slim given the enormity of the entire case. But did our esteemed TV colleagues care? Having spent an hour or so cursorily examining the death sentence to main accused Yakub Memon, it soon became all about Dutt with Bollywood celebs weeping and bemoaning their fate. It took film critic Rajeev Masand to put things in perspective on CNN-IBN: “Bollywood does not think logically”. Indeed.

     

    Many channels also ran retrospectives of Dutt’s life in the movies and pulled out old interviews with him, including with Arnab Goswami being so sweet and nice on Times Now unlike the fire-breathing dragon he turned into last night. Odd, because Goswami’s interview with Dutt was also after the star had been convicted…

     

    Kudos to Headlines Today for digging into the Living Media archives and pulling out a video interview with Yakub Memon in the days before Headlines Today or indeed private TV was invented in India. Some excellent news sense on display there and a break from the boo-hooing over Dutt.

     

    What does one make of Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju’s letter to the Maharashtra governor begging for clemency for Dutt? Katju thinks that since Dutt quoted Mahatma Gandhi in his “Munnabhai” series of films, he deserves the sort of mercy described by Portia in Merchant of Venice. Even I who knows nothing about Bollywood might venture that it was the film-maker who came up with the famous “Gandhigiri” concept. Still, here it is: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/katju-seeks-pardon-for-sanjay-dutt/article4535084.ece

     

    Also as expected, most newspapers barring The Times of India’s Mumbai edition fell short. The reason in simple — most newspapers in India have done away with institutional memory and got rid of (or refused to higher) anyone above the age of 45. This means that few staffers were around when the bomb blasts happened 20 years ago and for all I know their best source of reference is the film Black Friday. I have worked with these bright young people with no more than about seven years experience in journalism in 2006 when the TADA court pronounced its sentences, many of whom have tried to teach me about the events based on viewing the film. I hasten to add that I was in Bombay on March 12, 1993 and I did cover the aftermath for Mid-Day. And I haven’t seen the film. I reckon most people incharge today were either being fed Farex in their mummies’ laps or drinking Bournvita on their way to school when the blasts happen. TOI for all its faults and unlike the rest usually hangs on to some old fogeys.

     

    I was surprised to see that the Indian Express also led with the Dutt saga. Also, I would have thought that someone would have pulled out Bollywood reporters of yore to recount all the exciting love drama that happened around Dutt at the time. Possibly all those oldies have also been put out to pasture.

     

    Almost no one mentioned the mysterious circumstances under which Yakub Memon returned to India, which did cause much comment at the time.

     

    Well, you can’t have everything and when it comes to the Indian media, usually you won’t.

     

    **

     

    Siddharth Vardarajan, editor of The Hindu, has gone where (almost) no man or woman has gone before. He has directly taken on Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM for falsely using an advertorial article as an endorsement. The clarification states that IIPM paid for material which was put into a special supplement marked “advertorial”. It then used the so-called article in an ad, claiming that the Hindu had called the institute a “B-school with a human face”. Vardarajan contends that this article was written by IIPM and therefore Hindu had nothing to do with it. The clarification ends with these words: “The Hindu hereby would like to make it clear to current and prospective students of IIPM that it has not made any such editorial endorsement of the institution. We have now formally written to IIPM asking it to refrain from repeating the claim, and putting it on notice of our intent to proceed suitably against it if it persists in doing so.”

     

    It is well-known that because IIPM advertises heavily in the media, most media organizations are wary of criticising owner Chaudhuri. There have been several instances where editorial has been forced to hold back articles and comments. Chaudhuri also has the habit of filing cases against media houses and journalists all over the country to harass them.

     

    It will be interesting to see whether this clarification will mean that Vardarajan spends a lot of time now in Sikkim! http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/iipms-claim-on-the-hindu-a-clarification/article4530742.ece

     

    **

     

    The Mumbai Press Club has for some time now been at the forefront of several journalistic initiatives and is setting itself up as an institution of some repute and meaning – beyond the excellent cheap booze!

     

    The talk by editor-in-chief of The Guardian Alan Rusbridger on journalism in the digital age on Tuesday was an eyeopener for the Indian media on how the online world has to be embraced and enhanced by mainstream journalists and organisations. As a result of its ground-breaking efforts, The Guardian which is the seventh or eighth most read paper in the UK is the third most read paper online (in the world that is) fast catching up on the New York Times. It also gets some 25 per cent of its revenue from its digital efforts. Rusbridger’s speech was witty, informative and revelatory. And a warning for the Indian media of getting lost in the wilderness if it keeps snoring in the digital space for much longer.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Contributing Editor, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are own. You can post your messages below or reach her directly via Twitter at @ranjona

     

  • The Press Council chief needs to listen to journalists from across the country rather than limit to a few influence-pushers in Delhi, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: Katju’s heart is beating for the wrong reasons!

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju has now been making the rounds of TV studios to explain his stand on Sanjay Dutt. The former judge thinks that the film star has been punished enough for his transgressions during the Bombay bomb blasts of 1993 and needs to be pardoned rather than being made to endure his jail sentence. On Times Now’s News Hour with Arnab Goswam, Katju and Mahesh Jethmalani were supposedly engaged in a “debate”. But it wasn’t much of a debate since Katju said he was a kind-hearted man who was willing to plead for mercy for all kinds of people not just celebrities and Jethamalani also said Katju was a kind-hearted man but then said that he had appeared for Dutt in the early days and then said Dutt should acknowledge what he had done.

     

    It made for a very dismal debate since no arguments happened and Katju never veered from his set three lines and Jethmalani seemed a bit wary of offending the former judge thus ensuring there were no fireworks. Indeed, no illuminating or enthralling argument either and nothing to be gained. It is true that those yelling matches can become tedious but a boring discussion is well, a boring discussion.

     

    But rather than take on Katju over his kind heart, the media needs to understand Katju’s stand on the media. The Press Council chairman may or may not be right when he says that 90 per cent of Indians are idiots; there are times when one is inclined to agree with him. But when he says that a special kind of educational qualification is needed for journalists, one wonders at the advice he is being given.

     

    If there is a problem at this moment it is with the abysmal quality of journalism schools and courses in the country and the fact that HR departments are in charge of hiring since they cannot see beyond their noses. A journalist among other things needs to have a grasp of language and a wide range of interests and a sense of curiosity. By doing a journalism degree after school, a prospective journalist misses out on that mind-widening experience of delving into subjects without the restrictions imposed by the school system. That is why several senior journalists have argued that those who have studied in the school of life are better suited to the job than those with bogus journalism degrees.

     

    Here is Katju’s defence on his stand, which seems a bit plaintive, but he has still not understood the issue and why journalists are angry: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/how-not-to-be-a-journalist/1092798/0 I am unaware of how far the brief of the Press Council stretches in this regard and how much power media houses want to give it. But Katju seems to be an influential and intelligent man. In which case, he needs to broaden his base of advisers and listen to more journalists from all over the country rather than limit himself to a few influence-pushers in Delhi.

     

    And then of course, there’s the biggest problem facing the media which Katju could do something about: paid news. Here the culprits are owners and managers and perhaps the Press Council might want to negotiate with the Indian Newspaper Society and the Editors Guild to try and understand the issue.

     

    The chairman’s heart may well be in the right place but right now it’s beating for the wrong reasons

     

     

  • One Big Idea by Sanjay Mehta: The thrust around social media analytics needs to grow

    By Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO, Social Wavelength

     

    When MxM India posed the question to me, as to what is that one big idea that can be a game-changer for social media, in India, I admit that I was lost in thought, trying to figure it out.

     

    There are the usual suspects of ideas, which could have a significant impact, e.g.

    a. Higher bandwidth availability to users

    b. Cheaper tariffs for Internet access

    c. The increase in the proliferation of smart phones in the country

    d. Content availability in regional languages Etc.

     

    Yes, these reasons have been shared in many a previous wish list, for digital, and for social media as well. And while they are all valid reasons, which would impact social media in India, they would first impact the use of digital media, and only as a consequence of that would they impact social media.

     

    So I searched harder. And searched especially from the point of view of companies and brands.

     

    And what I am seeing is that the adoption of social media would be a lot larger and with a lot of conviction from the brands, if only the brand managers and the CMOs knew what really was going on, out there!

     

    And what that points to is social media analytics.

     

    If they had seriously measurable answers to questions like:

    > How many people are talking about my brand?

    > Who are these people – demography, psychography and so on?

    > What are these people saying?

    > Are they discussing my product?

    > Are they close to purchase? And if not, are they close to other calls of action?

    > What is the demography of the people we are connected with?

    > Are they influencers? Does one of their opinions go a long way to influence many others? And if so, who are these influencers and what are they talking about my brand? And my competitor’s brand??

     

    Some of these questions are answered by the present-day tools in the market. Some need value-added efforts on top of the existing tools. And some need to be well thought through, and solutions need to be evolved.

     

    So my call is that, a significant thrust on the quality, easy availability and prices of social media analytics, can be the one big idea, which can change the game for adoption of social media in India, going ahead.

     

  • Safety of women is now favourite dinnertime conversation; it was a matter of time before a public service campaign went on air. The Mumbai Police has come up with one, but it's a classic case of noble intention let down by dull communication

    Debrief: Mumbai Police: Weak & Ineffective

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Well, safety of women is now favourite dinnertime conversation; it was a matter of time before a public service campaign went on air. The Mumbai Police has come up with one, and there are quite a few commercials. However, it’s a classic case of noble intention let down by dull communication.

     

    The ads feature policemen talking directly into camera. They first address women, reassuring them that their complaints will be taken seriously. Later, in the same capsule, they address us deviant men, urging us to respect women. This simplicity and honesty sounds perfect on paper, but live action needs a lot more. There are many problems with this approach.

     

    For one, because each ad has been broken into two segments, as a viewer, I mentally switch off as soon as the second section starts, assuming that the same message is running in a loop. This is because the policemen, the camera angle, the set up… it’s the same for both segments. They needed to take care of this inevitability. Two, I don’t know if these guys are real cops, they look like small-time TV actors. Their names appear as supers, but this gets missed very easily. The fact that these are real cops ought to have been highlighted powerfully, credibility of the communication solely rides on that. And lastly, the treatment is ineffective because the creative is weak. As a citizen, I know this is not how cops deal with me in the police station, that all this nicety is only for the camera. Forget policemen, even the traffic cops are petty rude (ask the angry MLAs!). Which is why they needed a stronger approach, something that would make us sit up and say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know the police is nice with women complainants!’. Perhaps they should have played out real experiences of women at police stations. As for the ‘stern’ warning to the goons, it’s so thanda, I can see them going ‘LOL’.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 1. Tch, tch. A good opportunity wasted.

     

  • JWT must consider itself fortunate if Ford decides to continue with the partnership, writes Anil Thakraney

    #Scamadgate: Anil Thakraney: Pawar had to go

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Bobby Pawar must be sorely regretting he’s not a politician. Had he been one, JWT’s creative chief could have said the Ford scam ads are a conspiracy to malign his image, haha. Well, this isn’t Indian rajneeti, and therefore he got the boot. Must say Pawar’s conduct saddens me. As the big leader of the agency, he ought to have immediately taken direct responsibility for the offending ads, and resigned. Even if this crappy work was done by some young, desperate creatives, even if he wasn’t aware of the existence of these ads. Had he done so, Pawar might have walked away into the sunset with some degree of dignity still intact.

     

    Instead, the senior agency leaders’ first reaction was to wash their hands off the mess. Such leaders have to be sacked, no two ways on that. Especially so in the ad world, because scammy, unauthorized ads such as these directly affect the client’s image. It’s only within the global ad frat that the names of WPP and JWT crop up. To the rest of the world, Ford is the offender. Naturally therefore, some blood needed to spill.

     

    Speaking on a larger note, it’s shameful that after all these years of heated discussions on the subject, agency creatives continue to indulge in scam ads to win awards. Hopefully, Pawar’s sacking will result in some change. For one, national creative directors need to start worrying about the kind of culture and values they inculcate within their organizations. If the entire focus is on easy awards, scams will continue to happen, they are inevitable. If youngsters are evaluated mainly on the quantum of awards won, they will be tempted to cheat.

     

    Secondly, it’s high time systems and processes are initiated whereby juniors cannot upload any work that hasn’t been okayed by very senior creative directors. There was a time when young creatives would beg and plead with their media department to get a scam ad released in a lowly newspaper. Now, they just have to tweet it, and it’s out there for the world to see. All the more reason urgent attention needs to be paid to the operating processes, particularly so in large and medium sized ad agencies. One measure I can suggest right away is this: Every single employee needs to sign a declaration that he/she shall not publish anything official on the net without sanction from the national creative director. If they break this rule, they shall get instantly sacked, regardless of the material uploaded.

     

    Lastly, JWT must consider itself fortunate if Ford decides to continue with the partnership. Very fortunate, to be precise.