Category: DAS KA DUM

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Q: The general elections have been announced. On June 4, we will know who will helm the country for the next five years. Your view on the event as a marketer? How does the advertising strategy differ for political parties during Indian general elections compared to other types of marketing campaigns, considering the diverse demographics and regional nuances of the country?

A: Yes, the general elections in India, held every five years, is like a festival. We (the citizens/ voters) will have the next two months available for evaluating from a cacophony of claims and counter-claims of each brand’s (read candidate’s) competitive advantage over others across various media platforms and individual interactions. As voters, we would exert enormous power, supposedly, due to our right to vote. Very important for a democratic nation.

During this time, every communication is purported to be part of a communication drive— that’s what advertising is all about. Those parties who can bond better than others electorally would have an edge over other candidates/ parties. Obviously, the competitive claims would be different/ unique (unique value proposition), yet no one knows who would be ultimately win the race. All parties would be at their creative best to persuade the voters and that would be a fun to watch.

Of course every party claims that ‘Ab ki baar’, they would win, but any prediction would be a hazardous guess. Let’s enjoy the dance of democracy and enjoy the tune 🎵 once in five years.

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Q: There are fears of increase of misinformation and fake news during election period. But are we in the media fussing too much about it, and do the masses really care?

A: I agree with your observation that disinformation/ misinformation mixing with claims and counter-claims of various competing political parties. Besides, active citizens are also content creators now, thanks to technology and more often than not, they give vent to their opinions on the basis of their polarised perspective. WhatsApp University is a great institution to add to the cacophony. Even passive consumers of such content act trigger-happy (read ‘forward’) such misinformation to their group adding to the prevailing ‘Noise’.

The challenge of media is that they have surfeit of information and in their keenness to break stories, as part of so-called strategy of competitive edge, have no time to sift out facts from fiction. Besides, each media format has its ideological preferences, perhaps, apart from generating content.

Do the masses really care? I think they care, though they might be in a minority when compared with the teeming masses. But the cumulative noise level drowns the rational/ silent masses to subconsciously align one way or the other. There are voter apathies also which affect participation in the voting process but they are inconsequential in the context of noise generation.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: This is also the season for a variety of opinion polls. How much should we trust them? Do you

A: I wish the methodology would also be informed to the audience. With different methodologies of each poll, it is very difficult to know which prediction is correct. Luckily most of the opinion polls, as of now, are convergent in their prediction (research after all!) in spite of different methodologies. Quite often, there are variances from the actual results. That is rarely discussed later. Public memory is poor, as they say. By the same token, actually the outcome of the general election is out as I saw in some leading channel.

Trust is a matter of choice of individuals or Groups. In the dance of Democracy, enjoy the festival.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: Your views on the cricket this edition of the IPL? And the various ads that you’ve seen thus far

A: It’s too early to decode any trend with only a few matches being played as of now. But the unpredictability of cricket in general and T20 in particular continues to be there. In fact the fortune of all the matches (especially KKR and Sunrisers and GT and MI ) were against the run of play. And that’s what acts as a hook for viewers. But the initial matches are no indication of who would be amongst the last four…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: Lent and Ramzan are months of abstinence. If there’s one thing that you think the A&M trade should abstain from, what would it be?

A: Abstain from acting merely as an agency for communication needs, but as a business partner to make contribution to the business goals of clients/companies. Needless to say, A&M stakeholders need to acquire requisite skills to earn that position.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: When Mumbai Indians loses its first few matches in an IPL, would you say it’s a good omen?

A: Let me share some IPL gyaan with you:

a. the intrinsic nature of T20 is unpredictability

b. it is impossible to extrapolate last season’s pattern of performance of a team or last match’s performance of a team for the next match. One is as good as the last match. The next match is another game and another unpredictable performance of individuals or team.

Given the above premise, I can’t say that a losing streak is a good or bad omen. A team must play each game as a new game and a new dynamic strategy. Let the best team win a game on merit.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: Your sentiments on Day 2 of the new fiscal year?

A: On the basis of two days of the new financial year, I can’t predict the trend of 363 days of the year. Apart from a poor sample size, the operating environment of every business has become so volatile, macro or micro, that it’s well-nigh impossible to predict a deterministic pattern of business growth or decline. Besides, there is a possibility of election-led volatilities and/ or global developments including existing geo- political stress points, which could make every prediction a hazardous guess.

I anticipate some significant technology-led disruptions mainly Generative AI which could reconfigure the nature of work per se in various sectors. Consequent to all the above mentioned changes, I anticipate a challenging 2024-25 for business. The fittest guys would continue to thrive though.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: Who according to you is a better actor in ads: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli or M S Dhoni?

A: MSD, Virat and Rohit… in that order. My personal preference, of course. MSD is a natural and his acting prowess scores vis-a-vis the other two. But then acting capability has nothing to do with the core skill as a cricketer…

Btw, even after retirement, MSD endorses 20-odd brands. Virat endorses 24. In terms of records, both Virat and Rohit are miles ahead of Dhoni.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: The A&M fraternity is divided on working full-time from the workplace. What do you think works best for efficiencies of an organisation and individual: WFO, WFH or hybrid?

A: The answer to your question can’t be binary – either black or white. Every organisation has its own priorities and operating imperatives. So it’s not possible to predict what is good for an organisation as a generic prescription and not taking into account specific circumstances.

It’s a fact that presence in the workplace improves cross-pollination of ideas, camaraderie and teamwork , in general. Someone can argue that one may achieve the same virtually and this can improve work life balance better. The jury is still out on the subject.

It’s a given perception that human beings are a gregarious breed of animals and they like active social interactions (not through social media) in a world of collective aloneness.

Given the above, let me try to propose a thought: if you divide corporate functions by existing paradigm, there are combinations of line and staff functions. The line functions are mostly customer-facing and require active engagement with multiple functions within the organisation and with customers outside (in a platform and  creator universe this is all the more critical). Hence a hybrid approach—staggered schedule for staff function (may be once a week) and five-day week for line functions might be a viable option. Needless to say, a prior discussion with HODs of various functions keeping in mind customers’ interests and corporate priorities would facilitate smooth execution.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: A few days back, I received an image (a graph actually) titled ‘Probability of Getting Fooled’. Against April Fool’s Day, the level was very low (say at 5), and for Election Day, it was at 65-odd. Is this what the perception of politics and politicians is today?

A: I have seen too the same graph. In fact in today’s day and age everyone is a distributor through a thumb.

The message is CLEAR: the alleged growing voter apathy towards ruling class, whichever party they belong to.

But the above assertion could be vacuous  if read as a headline. Let’s dissect my own comment, as given above. As a business strategist, I need to first decide which addressable market I am referring to. There may be the following classifications of economic strata in India: Super Rich, Rich, Upper Middle Class, Lower Middle Class, Poor, Destitute. This is my classification on the basis of empirical observations. There may be other classifications by experts but broadly my classifications would tally.

Now, the first three categories are not affected much by governments, though they have pay tax as part of their  success fees. The rest of the classes have developed cynicism about change of rulers and change of their fortune. Ironically, these groups are swayed by demagogues and prevaricators of reality.

The former categories are in a minority when it comes to influencing outcomes of any votes. They are consequential for the Economy but inconsequential, perhaps for elections. The latter forms the majority but they are gullible, fatalist and aren’t exposed to calibrated usage of their voting power once in five years.

At the end, I may mention that the graph doesn’t represent emotions of India in totality in the context of elections in this case.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: What are the one or two or three things that a mid-career marketer must do to ensure that AI, tech and the vagaries of business render her/him irrelevant?

A: Mid-career in any industry could be under pressure due to sectoral reasons, specific corporate arthritis and individual inertia towards upskilling. Any individual who wants to remain relevant in the job market must alter her/his mindset towards the unfolding world order. This is applicable for any organisation that wants to be at the cutting edge of technology and competition.

While the approaches would be different for individuals and corporations, the meta approach have to be the same. The individual has to strategise at a personal level (eg upskilling, continuous learning, align resumes to job, and highlighting sector specific skills etc). The corporations have to address the transformation at every aspect of organisational management. What would work well for both the affected parties is to plan a future backwards strategy and be ready (read nimble enough) for multiple eventualities that could threaten thriving in the future. There is no one specific approach that can be applied in both the cases as an off the shelf approach. It has to be a customised approach keeping specific challenges in mind.

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: The media economy is said to be in the doldrums. What according to you can be done it to ensure the ‘achche din’ happen?

A: Are you referring to media economics or media economy? The answer would be a tad different for either of the options. For example, media economics would differ by format and specific company approach. Whereas, media economy would encompass larger areas of probing and explanation.

Having said that let me try to give answers to both in bullet points and you may pick whatever you meant.

1. Media Economics:

1. The volatility of tech-led and altered consumption habits of audiences have been affecting media economics continuously.

2. The altered competitive disruptions, both intra and inter, demand strategy alterations on the go. Innovations at both demand and supply side of the business are the need of the hour for business viability.

3. In view of the above reality (altered and emergent), organisations have to rejig their operations across all functions to maintain their competitive advantage.

B. Media Economies:

A lot of things that I mentioned above are also relevant for this aspect of your question. For example, both demand and supply side of each format of delivery needs to be innovated in sync with the changing tastes and preferences of the consumers and possible migration of audiences to altered and improved formats. There is no one size fits all readymade solution for such eventualities.

Innovative thinking is no longer a choice for survival for organisations. Organisation-wide and altered wind and belief system have to happen for  shared destiny.

In short,  the BANI syndrome* of the M&E sector are more pronounced than most of the sectors. Hence strategic agility and flawless execution could save the day for the players to maintain their continued dominance. Continued success can never be taken for granted.

*BANI is short for brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible