MxMIndia

Category: Big Story

  • The Rise & Rise of the IPL

    The Rise & Rise of the IPL

    Source: www.iplt20.com

     

    Shailesh KapoorThe 17th edition of the Indian Premier League kicks off tonight. To say that it’s the biggest media event in India by some margin will be stating the obvious. The gap between IPL and other big-ticket properties has only grown wider over the last decade.

    The stature of IPL is reflected in our new report, titled The Ormax Sports Audience Report: 2024. The sampling of IPL in the 612 million audience base of cricket in India is higher than that of the ICC World Cup, by a good six percentage points. The list of most-recalled sporting franchises in India (across sports) sees a clean sweep, with the 10 IPL teams taking the top 10 positions, ahead of Manchester United and Patna Pirates, which are the most-recalled leagues in football and kabaddi respectively.

    In its first few years, IPL faced its share of controversies. But in its second phase, the league has been able to put cricket first, and that has helped it move away from the erstwhile imagery of a flippant brand, towards building credibility as a talent platform. This shift is fundamental in nature, and has held IPL in good stead.

    IPL is now a way of life for those in the media industry. Till not too many years ago, there was a lot of chatter about how GECs should dodge the IPL googly. Now, everyone has a playbook of sorts, and it’s not a topic to lose sleep over, anymore.

    This year’s IPL will be held amid the political fervor around the General Elections. News-wise, IPL will play second fiddle. But in terms of monetisation and viewership, it will continue to stay at the top. The stronger franchises are profitable now, and BCCI continues to get richer with each edition. Yet, there’s ample room for growth, as fan bases are continuing to build, especially for franchises that have made late entries, or taken their time to get going.

    This year’s IPL will also see younger captains across most teams. The average age of the 10 captains this year is 30 years, which is three years younger than the 33 years average age in IPL 2023. The old guard is passing the baton to the new, and that’s always a good thing, especially in a talent platform like IPL.

    Amid all the excitement, the biggest highlight of this IPL is going to be the return of Rishabh Pant. The actor survived a near-fatal road accident in December 2022, and his incredible recovery over the last 14 months has been a miraculous one. How National Cricket Academy has helped Pant get back to match readiness against all odds is perhaps the best example of BCCI money being put to great use.

    Pant is leading the Delhi Capitals side, and their first match is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, at Mohali. We can expect a roaring reception to a special talent, who first got noticed via the IPL itself, before making it big at the international stage. I won’t be surprised if he makes this IPL his very own, to announce a comeback we have all been waiting for. Game on!

  • Wavemaker & Mondelez shine @ Emvie 2024

    Wavemaker & Mondelez shine @ Emvie 2024

    The 24th edition of the Emvies, held last Friday (March22) saw Wavemaker India with 665 points recognised as ‘The Best Media Agency of the Year’ and Mondelēz India Foods Pvt. Ltd. with 440 points declared as ‘The Best Media Client of the Year’.

    Grand-EMVIE
    Grand EMVIE

    EMVIE - Client of the year
    EMVIE – Client of the year

    Grand EMVIE Thirty-five agencies participated to submit 1892 entries, of which 471 entries were shortlisted. Other than one Grand Emvie, 44 Gold and 68 Silver trophies were presented in addition to 88 Bronze prizes.

    Wavemaker India also bagged the Grand Emvie for Mondelēz India’s Cadbury Celebrations. Mindshare with 460 points stood second and EssenceMediacom with 325 points stood third. It was indeed a GroupM show at the top of the agency roster.

    The Emvie for Diversity Equality & Inclusion (DE&I) was awarded to Mindshare for Dove’s Stop The Beauty Test. The Young Emvie of The Year was awarded to Mindshare’s Rowena Rodrigues for Dove – Crafting Cannes-worthy Brilliance!

    Said Rana Barua, Group CEO of Havas India, South East, and North Asia, and President of The Advertising Club: “The calibre of work showcased at the Emvie this year was truly phenomenal. Standing out in their unique ways, each entry exemplified the exceptional quality of work our industry professionals consistently maintain, reaching global standards. We are delighted to celebrate these winners, whose creativity and strategic brilliance set a new standard for excellence. A heartfelt congratulations to all the winners for raising the bar in the media industry!”

    Added Punitha Arumugam, Chairperson, Emvies Committee: “The work submitted for Emvies continues to astound us. Each year, the innovative and ingenious campaigns elevate the industry’s brilliance to new heights. A huge congratulations to this year’s winners! The quality of work witnessed sets a remarkable standard in the media industry, and we are thrilled to see where the continuing work takes the industry next.”

    The prestigious awards were powered by TV9 Network, co-powered by The Times of India, in association with UltraTech Cement, and category sponsors Craving Digital, Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), and South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA).

    EMVIE 2024 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

    EMVIE 2024 CLIENT OF THE YEAR

    EMVIE 2024 RESULTS

  • Being water-wise needs a behavioural change

    Being water-wise needs a behavioural change

    Sanjeev KotnalaIt was like any other Saturday morning. I was working on my laptop when the Nutgraf newsletter landed in the email. For people unaware of it, it is a paid weekly emailer that explains fundamental shifts in business, technology and finance that happened over the last seven days in India. And this week, it spoke of the Bengaluru Water Crisis where it drew upon the way Cape Town, the first Zero City (in 2018), was trying to fight the crisis.

    I know someone will say that if Cape Town has  adapted to the situation in last six years, let’s learn and implement the solutions. These people don’t realise that even if the problem sounds similar,  the solutions are not the same, though one can expect a lot more of overlap.

     

    It Is Bengaluru Today, It Could Be Indore Tomorrow

    There is a need to overreact. A few of us may not be alarmed or react to then situation as we may not have ever experienced a dry tap. We may be the ones who despite the umpteen messages to conserve water – may still be waiting for the bell to ring.

    We may joke that we Indians are good at crisis management and hence would wait for the day. We may laugh at the climate alarmists and brand it yet another ‘Behdia Aaya‘ (wolf) moment.  A few of us, strengthened by the Covid mindset, would say we will adapt to the situation and find a way out as we did in the past. Many would play that helpless card like they do during the voting, questioning what difference could a single vote make?  Not knowing that every step, vote, and drop counts. And not understanding that the government can do this much and no more.

     

    Sabka Number Aayega

    The water crisis is very secular and democratic. Sooner or later, it will hit all of us. For some time, a few wealthy ones may be able to scrape through and manage, but the government will have to step in and treat everyone as equals.

    Rationing of water, police deployment, restricted service would be par for the course. One may even be imprisoned and penalised for using more water than authorised. It can be worse than the Covid oxygen crisis.

    No, I am not trying to scare you but only familiarising you with the future.  You better be scared, or there is nothing to say.

     

    The Clock been running out of Time.

    The Bengaluru crisis was not created in one day. We have been walking towards it for many years. It was one of the Top 10 cities globally in the list of cities where the crisis was expected to hit first. At every city level, we and the government know the looming water crisis has picked up pace. How one or two bad years of monsoon may just tilt the balance.

     

    The Problem is That We Know It all.

    Come summer, there will be some cuts of 10-15% and we will manage. There will be Save Water campaigns. Some brand may even take it as a part of corporate social service and do lip-service to the situation. Hotel bathrooms would have those smart looking water-saving stickers on mirrors and will ask you to change the towel and bed sheet only when needed. A few leading  newspapers and TV channels will start initiatives to get their audience to contribute to save water and talk about five- things to do to prevent water wastage. And soon as the first announcement of monsoon dates (forget first shower) will revert to our normal default setting of water wastage.

    We will forget, like we have done for so many years, that a drop saved is a drop made.

    Many will tell you not to preach because each one of us actually knows everything.

    We all know the importance of saving and not abusing water availability.

    We have been learning and training others to act.

    We have stopped looking for hotels with bathtubs.

    We use only one bucket to bath and have stopped using the shower.

    We close the tap while shaving and brushing.

    We don’t use the heavy water guzzlers of fully automatic washing machine.

    We don’t waste water washing our vehicles every day.

    We recycle wastewater. We harvest rainwater.

    And more… The possibilities in the ways we can contribute are many.

    And on the other side

    In the name of development and infrastructure, we continue to bury the remaining  lakes and water bodies.

    We continue to cut trees and reclaim marsh lands.

    We create concrete fortresses clogging every possible inch recharging underwater bodies.

    We dig borewells not worried about underwater bodies.

    Oh,

    We have developed Apps and use AI to solve the problem.

    Oh,

    We know it will not solve the problem without a behavioural change.

    Oh,

    The list is long; we know what we should/could do.

    However, even then, we are guilty of not acting despite knowing what to do.

    There cannot be a worse idiot than literates who know.

    How many of us make it to the list of people who know, can act- but don’t to save water.

    Indeed, a lot of us.

     

    We are like that only

    Many of us know the need to wear seat belts and don’t. We wear it only when we know we can be penalised. Same with the helmet, speeding, insurance, jaywalking, or cleaning the house or not littering to road.

    We are habitual offenders, and we are the smartest of all.

    So we don’t need to be told or demonstrated what we need to do.

    We speak through our ego powered by the chalta hai attitude. We also believe we are beyond the tipping point and the helpless, we can make no difference.

    I Am Guilty Too.

    Yes, I am guilty too. I recall the water crisis film that my friend made a long time ago, the films that agencies did, and the campaign that newspapers ran and some of them I contributed to. Unfortunately, the clouds of water crisis were not as prominent as they are now and the efforts were seasonal- not really geared toward measuring the results.

     

    Net-net

    There is no time to play the blame game. No point in pointing fingers and listing who is more responsible for the crisis.

    Before accusing anyone else, I must look inward and make a promise. I will leave the list of the idiots who know but don’t act. I will do whatever is right and what I must do to conserve and avoid wasting water. And I will share and tell others to do everything possible to conserve water.

    Like me, we can be the small example for our circle of influence and control. And there, we can make a difference. We must know that the act is far more critical this time than the destination.

    Meanwhile, I look forward to the government, institutions, resident societies, cooperatives and colonies using every possible means. Use Sham-Daam-Dand-Bhedh (Logic and rationality, Price and penalty and differentiation and doubt) to nudge the population.

    It may be the water pressure, water-map, or levies – fines or control. Maybe it is time that we not only look at Bengaluru and the crisis but look at the whole nation. However, working from home or migrating without habit and attitude change only relocates the problem geographically. We need a behavioural change.

  • Market Research in the Age of AI

    Market Research in the Age of AI

    Ashoke AgarrwalWhen one plots the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in marketing, one arrives at a singularity where all of marketing is the AI avatar of a brand in direct conversation and interaction with the AI avatar of the consumer. I have called the AI avatar of consumer – Concierge Intelligence in many of my columns here, including my first MxMIndia column back in Jan 2022 -“The Coming Post-Digital Age”.

    However, plotting and thinking about the intermediate points would be helpful.

    I have been part of a team working since 2020 on using Natural Language Processing (NLP) to generate secondary research semi-autonomously. The launch of GPT-3 and subsequent versions reframed the project for us. Like scores, perhaps hundreds worldwide, we are now trying to find a market niche, proprietary prompt engineering, and the correct interface to support a viable business. Say, a freemium WhatsApp interface for Indian SMEs offering online business consultancy services based on open-source predictive and generative AI models working on public and paid data sets.

    What about the emerging role of AI in primary consumer research? The big two—Alphabet and Meta—have been using predictive AI for decades to segment consumers, keep them engaged with their social media feeds and search results, and harvest clicks so their advertisers can pay them big bucks.

    Over the past decade, big corporates from both the B2C and B2B worlds have been using Big Data and Predictive Analytics to fine-tune their business and marketing plans. However, it is unclear whether they are at the cutting edge of predictive AI, just as Alphabet and Meta are. While a lot is currently being made of Generative AI and the likes of GPT, Llama, Gemini, etc., I bet that we shall discover that the disruptive power of AI will come not from generating sentences, pictures, videos or music but from underpinning key business, economic, social and personal decisions based on a dynamic array of multi-dimensional data sets. While predictive AI underpins generative AI, a different kind of predictive AI will also underpin the AI age. It will be predictive AI that works on an integrated, dynamic view of the natural world to deliver strategic action plans and monitor and fine-tune them. To use this level of AI, corporations and governments will need to go beyond internal data sets and subscribe to a whole range of third-party data sets.

    One category of these third-party data sets will be garnered through an IoT network of sensors synthesised with publicly available identification data sets—for example, vehicle movement with ownership details or scans of browsing shoppers, personal IDs and billing details. The ownership and personal ID can be scrubbed of all details except for basic demographics to meet privacy rules. Alternatively, the individual could opt to belong to an ID Bank that holds his details in escrow and can release them, using blockchain technology on payment of a fee – thus making the individual the valid owner of his ID and personal data.

    The ID Bank idea will fuel the second category of third-party data sets. These data sets will contain in-depth profiles of individuals, including contact information, demographics, psychographics, societal and cultural attitudes, media usage, product and brand usage, and purchase behaviour and intentions. The ID Bank will have a watertight agreement with the individual on securely holding the data and releasing any of it to a third party only upon approval and release of a specified fee.

    Corporations can then request the release of specified data from a selected consumer profile. For example, a car company may ask for a data set consisting of individuals who own one of a set of car models and have indicated a purchase intention for a new car in the next six months with permission to contact with offers. The ID Bank, in discussion with the consumer, will quote a certain fee on payment, for which the data will be released in a blockchain format that allows for usage tracking. The fee will be released to the consumer’s account, and the ID Bank will get a management fee.

    Creating, managing and marketing the two categories of data sets envisaged above will define the future of the market research industry over the next few decades.

    The corporation’s predictive AI systems will define the need for data from third-party data sets, consider the cost-benefit of buying them, and incorporate them into predictive analysis to build business and market plans.

    Over the decades, as AI and consumers become more sophisticated, intermediaries like ID Banks will be cut out, and a brand’s AI will be in direct touch with a consumer’s Concierge Intelligence (CI) with market research evolving into a version of anthropology focused on studying the behaviour of AI systems. “AInthropology” anyone!?

  • Technology and the immortality of an advertising theory @IPL

    Technology and the immortality of an advertising theory @IPL

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaYet another season of IPL is underway. And like many millions, I have been following the matches keenly on JioCinema. Since I am travelling, I do not have access to DTH or cable to watch it on TV. So, my writing is based on my JioCinema experience only.

     

    Usually, I comment on the ads during the IPL. I will continue to do so. But this particular column is going to first recount my experience with JioCinema from a technology- and consumer-friendly viewpoint and then I shall take just two examples to highlight some issues in the IPL ads.

     

    I find the app very consumer-friendly during IPL. The home page highlights the match of the day and with one click, I am into the match. But when there are two matches then the homepage keeps on highlighting the first match, well beyond 7:30 pm and the second match requires real searching. The issue does not get resolved even by refreshing the page.

     

    In terms of the content, I find the ‘Jeeto Dhan Dhana Dhan’ contest very interesting. It’s a simple multiple-choice question based on what will happen in the next over. With one click, the answer is submitted. And before the next question comes up, one is informed if one got it right. But the beauty is that for all those who got right answers there is some prize. Usually, a discounted product from an online e-commerce portal. I, played it almost at the end of each over for two days and I had around 20 prizes. And the redemption was also well-planned. Click on the same page to redeem the prize. The right page, which offers only the products on offers open up. Your discount has been copied to the clipboard. Choose, fill your details, pay if required and the offer has been redeemed. No choosing of products and at check-out realising that your preferred products have no discount. No ambiguity. Very well-organised and planned. And at the last count, I came across nine brands offering the prizes. Two of the three I redeemed were delivered in Dehradun within 48-72 hours. And of course, there are bigger prizes for those who answer the most correct answers daily. Unfortunately, I did not have the patience to sit through all 40 overs and answer all questions. But kudos to a well thought through and planned contest.

     

    In terms of communication, I remember that ‘Jeeto Dhan Dhana Dhan’ was an offer that Jio had offered in the IPL four to five years ago. So, to find that this year MyCircle11 was sponsoring the contest was bit of a let-down. It also clashes with the MyCircle11 advertising as it caused a confusion in my mind if the contest had something to do with the gaming app offering discounts to play games on the app. I then realised that Tata had sponsored ‘Jeeto Dhan Dhana Dhan’ contest in 2021 and last year it was MRF. Personally, it’s a simple and rewarding contest and any sponsor will reap the rewards with a longer association. Like, I think Jio did for two-three years. I still remember it.

     

    Now, let’s focus on the ads. There were many new ads this year. Predictably, Dream 11 came up with, till now, the best campaign. Simple thought. Good use of the cricketers. I particularly liked the Mr Sharma ka beta mera beta featuring Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Sunil Shetty. It crossed the thin line between a cricketer and his personal life in a beautiful, interesting and heartwarming way, with a hint of comedy. Communication theories always say use celebrities who add to the brand personality and to the memorability of the ad. This is a great example of the same.  Watch the ad here.

     

    The other ads in the series have focused on personal rivalries. Bumrah vs Shreyas and then Shreyas vs Bumrah. Preity Zinta, co-owner of Punjab vs Pant got me cracking up at the end. Not in the same league as Mr. Sharma ka beta but at least Dream11 is not just splurging money on celebrities.

     

    I am now hoping to see a Hardik vs Rohit. Oh sorry. It’s about team loyalty. So maybe Hardik and Rohit.

     

    But the ad campaign which got me thinking was actually Parle. It has released a series of ads, thankfully without any cricketers or film stars. These address issues which are mostly intangibles. Difficult to pinpoint, prove or substantiate. So, difficult to communicate too. Quality, trust, variety, new products. The campaign has tried to use some odd metaphors or join some improbable dots to convey these messages. I just felt that someone is ramming down these virtues down my throat.

     

    And that’s when I remembered a gem of theory that was part of the JWT thinking process. The difference between stimulus and response. The theory mandated that do not put your benefit or message as a stimulus, rather let it be the response from the consumer. Do not spoon-feed. Let the consumer discover it. That way it will be more memorable and the communication will have a lasting impression. Remember the Ericsson black coffee ad? Nowhere it said the world’s smallest phone or even a small phone. It demonstrated its size as a stimulus and the response was “a phone so small it can hide in my palm.” No wonder the ad is recalled even after three decades. Watch the ad here.

    I feel that Parle has missed a trick. The amount of money that is spending trying to hit us with trust, quality and other parameters would have been much better spent if the desired response theory had been used.

    And this thought got amplified when I saw the Apple iPhone 15 app on storage for photos. It beautifully showed someone marking photos to be deleted and then they used a perfect song “Don’t let me go”. Each photo that was being marked for deletion suddenly came alive with the character in the photo singing the song. And at the end there was just a simple message which said lots of storage for lots of photos. They could have gone to town on memory capacity or on transferring photos to cloud through their cloud service. But by using the stimulus of each photo imploring not be deleted, through a song, the benefit was like a stimulus which I will not forget. Great ad.

     

    And we wonder why Apple iPhone commands such a premium and is yet a world leading brand! Watch the ad here.

     

    In fact the Preity Zinta vs Pant ad also is a stimulus vs response theory ad. Watch the ad here.

     

    I sincerely hope that some of the JWT theories like the stimulus vs response one are not buried along with the venerable brand.

     

    Before I end, I saw as a part of media co-sponsor super “Pepsi yeh dil mange more”. I was intrigued and excited to see what was the contemporary version of this classic Pepsi campaign. So, I found it on you tube. See it here. And let’s match our reactions in my next column.

     

  • Announcing Kate Middleton’s diagnosis should’ve been simple. But the palace let it get out of hand…

    Announcing Kate Middleton’s diagnosis should’ve been simple. But the palace let it get out of hand…

    Kate Middleton speaking on her health… Screengrab from video on X

     

    By Victoria Fielding

    The British royal family is famous for its carefully curated media image. That’s why it was a surprise to see them lose control of the narrative in the wake of what we now know is a serious health crisis befalling Catherine, Princess of Wales (or Kate Middleton as she’s popularly known).

    It is clear the nearly 1000-year-old institution of the monarchy and its tradition of “never complain, never explain” is being tested by social media and its power to spread rumours and misinformation. The palace’s public relations team has underestimated how difficult it is to manage relationships with social media audiences. Their reactive attempts to rein in speculation has turned Catherine’s health challenge into a PR disaster.

    Social media, with its lax regulations and freer environment, offers a more
    open forum for users to say whatever they like about the royals. It’s served as a hotbed for Catherine conspiracies, particularly on TikTok. These theories are as wild as they are ridiculous, from Catherine being a prisoner in the palace to her hiding in Taylor Swift’s London home.

    What should have been a simple announcement to a sympathetic public about a popular royal having cancer turned into a spider’s web of competing conspiracy theories across social media. How did it all go so terribly wrong?

    I’ve lost track, what happened?

    All was well with the Prince and Princess of Wales when they were filmed attending church on Christmas Day. As usual when royals are out in public, the scene was picture perfect with everyone dutifully smiling for the cameras in “co-ordinated” outfits.

    A statement from Kensington Palace pic.twitter.com/6h3BCrqj5L

    — The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) January 17, 2024

    Two weeks later, Kensington Palace announced Catherine had undergone planned abdominal surgery, with palace sources telling media the surgery had been “successful” and she would need two weeks to recover.

    On January 29, the palace announced Catherine had returned home to recuperate. Unlike King Charles when he released news of his cancer diagnosis on February 5, Catherine was not photographed leaving hospital. This was the first PR misstep. She had appeared outside hospital soon after giving birth to her three children, but this time she remained uncharacteristically out of the public eye.

    Almost a month later, when Prince William unexpectedly withdrew from his godfather’s memorial citing “personal reasons”, social media users started asking “Where is Princess Kate?”.

    Used to a steady stream of content about the royal family, the public were unsurprisingly questioning if there was more to Catherine’s abdominal surgery than they were being told.

    In a rare reactive move, the palace tried to quell questions about Catherine’s whereabouts by releasing a statement reiterating that she would not be returning to public duties until Easter.

    On March 4, US outlet TMZ published a paparazzi photo of Catherine driving with her mother. Social media audiences asked if it really was Catherine.

    Over the next week, conspiracy theories about Catherine’s absence reached frenzied levels. To show everything was fine, Kensington Palace released a Mother’s Day photo of Catherine and her children on their social media accounts. Social media users spotted apparently edited flaws and global news agencies announced “kill orders”, saying the image had been manipulated. The next day, Catherine apologised on social media for editing the photo.

    Although royals have been editing their pictures for centuries, it seems particularly digitally naive of the palace’s PR team to release such an obviously edited image into an already cynical social media environment, creating fodder for more conspiracy theories.

    Mainstream news outlets then joined social media users in asking questions about Catherine’s absence. Although this media attention did not legitimise wild conspiracies, in some ways it fuelled them.

    Days later, TMZ published footage of Catherine and William shopping. At this point in the media chaos, many social media users claimed it was fake.

    This intense public speculation finally ended on March 23, when Catherine released a video explaining her extended absence after abdominal surgery was caused by the surgeons discovering cancer.

    During a crisis, the public crave transparency, authenticity, honesty and reassurance. These elements were missing in the royal PR team’s carefully worded statements made directly to mainstream media along with reactive, overly curated social media posts.

    By providing scant details, the palace seemed to believe they could control public perception. But public image is increasingly difficult to control.

    The double-edged sword of social media

    After Princess Diana’s death in a paparazzi-chase car accident, privacy laws and media regulations forbade the most invasive breaches of the royal family’s privacy, particularly for her children, princes William and Harry. However, tabloid appetite for uncontrolled access soon returned once the princes became adults.

    Recently, Harry and his wife Meghan have been involved in several lawsuits against media companies over breaches of privacy, including phone hacking.

    The rise of social media has typically been viewed as a tool that gives royals more control over their image through the curation of their own personal content. Previously, the fact Catherine was the one taking photos of her children was seen as a sign of authenticity and being down to earth (as much as a princess could be).

    Yet, social media is both a blessing and a curse for the management of public reputations.

    The perpetuation of contested facts and theories on social media in the wake of Princess Catherine’s unexplained absence shows how difficult it is to curate a controlled image using social media. Lack of verified information in mainstream media helps fuel speculative flames.

    While PR experts believe it is understandable and appropriate for Catherine and her family to have privacy during this time, more timely, direct and honest communication would have gone a long way to prevent relentless gossip.

    Once rumours and conspiracies gained momentum, the palace perhaps thought the less information provided, the better. However, silence during a crisis just fuels more speculation because the lack of information makes it look like there is something to hide.

    Catherine’s personal video announcing her cancer diagnosis helped end the social media frenzy. This shows a simple, clear statement posted by Kensington Palace to social media weeks ago would likely have avoided the PR disaster and provided Catherine the privacy she so clearly needs.

    The palace is now being criticised for complicating a situation that was relatively simple in retrospect. Many social media users are also upset Catherine took public blame for the photoshopping incident.

    Any organisation that deals with the media to maintain positive reputations, including the British monarchy, has no choice but to adapt to all kinds of media, including social media. The long-time practice of keeping calm and carrying on amid controversy and the 24-hour gossip cycle doesn’t work in the era of TikTok, X and YouTube.

    In the absence of trusted information, social media will do what it does best: take mostly innocuous online chatter and amplify it until it goes viral.The Conversation

     

    Victoria Fielding is Lecturer, University of Adelaide and Saira Ali, Senior Lecturer in Media, University of Adelaide. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

  • The Grey Area of Social Betting among Friends

    The Grey Area of Social Betting among Friends

    Sanjeev KotnalaNavigating the legality surrounding gambling and betting in India is full of confusion and uncertainty for the average citizen. What is legal or illegal gambling is subject to the interpretation of authorities and law enforcement officials. While one might engage in online gaming platforms under the guise of skill-based games without repercussions, the same cannot be said for a friendly game of cards during a festive occasion like Diwali or a generic pooled bet among friends on the election results. Even betting among close friends can teeter on the edge of legality unless certain precautions are taken, further complicated by different interpretations and rules at central and state levels.

     

    The Idea of Betting on Lotus

    Recently, during a reunion in Jaipur, discussions naturally covered the upcoming 2024 elections and possible outcomes. Like any other group of elders, everyone had their own interpretation of the current geopolitical situation and, hence, polarised outcomes. These predictions were based on informed analysis, akin to a game of skill.

     

    The idea of a closed-group betting pool emerged to add excitement to the discussion. Participants would predict the number of seats the BJP would secure under the Lotus symbol and contribute a nominal amount, with one person designated as the BetMaster. The individual closest to the actual result would claim the pooled amount.

     

    Confidentiality and transparency were built into the process. The last date for predicting and betting was the eve of the first polling date. The predictions were only known to BetMaster and made public a day after the first polling date. The participant could change the prediction once before closing the entries.

     

    Despite the transparent and confidential nature of the arrangement, a crucial question loomed: Was it legal? Despite being a mere 10,000 collective possible wagers in a 60 billion industry ( estimate of 2010), we were too educated not to intellectualise the possible scenario.

     

    Risky Social Betting

    This inquiry into the subject over digital checks and a few discussions led to a sobering realisation. While the friendly betting endeavour seemed innocuous, it could potentially run afoul of gambling laws in India. One could be fined INR 200 or imprisoned for three months. The mere possibility of legal repercussions, including fines and imprisonment, cast a shadow over what was intended as harmless fun among friends.

     

    Betting is the act of putting at stake a wagering amount (a valuable or liquid cash) on the prediction of the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event.

     

    Gambling in India

    Gambling is strictly prohibited in India under the antiquated Public Gambling Act of 1867, a relic from the pre-Independence era.

     

    Despite its age, its enforcement varies significantly across states, leading to a patchwork of interpretations. While the Act overlooks online betting, several states have enacted specific laws against it.

     

    Interestingly, gaming platforms have successfully argued in courts that their activities constitute skill-based games.

     

    Now, consider predicting election outcomes. It does require intricate knowledge and analysis akin to strategic skill. Yet, despite the parallels with skill-based activities like exit polls, this entertaining pooled betting among friends could be illegal.

     

    Under the Public Gaming Act of 1867, anyone caught gambling with cards, dice, or counters faces potential imprisonment and fines as per Section 45 of the Indian Penal Code of 1860.

     

    Game of Skill v/s Chance

    The legislative definition of a game of skill is one in which the element of skill predominates over the element of chance, including when the skill relates to strategising the manner of placing wagers or bets, when the skill lies in team selection or selection of virtual stocks based on analyses, or when the skill relates to the manner in which the moves are made, whether through deployment of physical or mental skill and acumen. 

     

    Based on this, many states consider rummy, bridge, golf, chess, poker, darts, and carom games to be games of skill. The gaming platforms have somehow convinced the judiciary that they are more a game of skill than of chance.

     

    If we were to fight, we could always prove that predicting election results requires a deep understanding of the geopolitical situation, processes, and ground reality—definitely, it is a game of skill. But then we wouldn’t have the energy and width to do so. We want easy clarity.

     

    Ambiguity in Gambling

    The ambiguity surrounding the legality of such simple, friendly social betting reflects broader inconsistencies within India’s gambling laws. Moreover, this is the case of educated professionals who have held positions of responsibility and repute.

     

    While online platforms exploit legal loopholes to operate as skill-based games, traditional forms of betting face stricter scrutiny, even within private circles.

     

    Not a Competition

    This pooling syndicate on election results could be considered a competition where the prize is offered for solving a puzzle, number, alphabet, crossword, missing word, or picture prize.

    Elections are one of the biggest puzzles of complex caste divides, manifesto statements, political inclinations, etc. However, with a prize of more than INR 1000, it ran foul of the Prize Competition Act of 1955, which bans a prize of more than INR 1000.

    Our prize money would have been 10,000 INR, a small sum in a 60 billion betting industry (2010 estimate), but beyond the Competition Act.

     

    Not even a Lottery

    Yes, in our scheme, typically, every participant predicted a number; in a way, he or she was buying a number that he or she believes has the most chance of coming when the results were declared. Now, does that make it within the Lottery Act?

    The lottery is defined in the Lotteries (Regulation) Act 1998 under Section 2(b): ‘lottery’ means a scheme, in whatever form and by whatever name called, for the distribution of prizes by lot or chance to those persons participating in the chance of a prize by purchasing tickets.

    So, our simple, transparent, innocuous betting could be against the Gambling, Competition, and Lottery Act! The group had to stop looking at further running the closed group syndicate for the IPL winner, the Purple and orange cap winner, and the US Presidential race.

     

    Social Betting Stifled

    Social betting among friends typically centred around sports or elections, is common in India. These informal wagers, characterised by low stakes and camaraderie, rarely attract legal intervention. However, the possibility of legal consequences looms over such activities, deterring individuals from fully embracing harmless social traditions. This prevents more of the educated class than the masses.

     

    Government concern with Betting

    The reluctance to legalise betting stems from moral and societal concerns, with gambling viewed as a vice associated with addiction and financial ruin. Yet, the distinction between games of skill and chance remains murky, leaving room for interpretation and enforcement discrepancies. One feels frustrated when online betting and gambling continue under the name of skill. On the other side, social gambling is under the scanner.

     

    The lack of clarity surrounding social betting perpetuates uncertainty and stifles harmless recreational activities. As the government grapples with defining and regulating gambling, it’s imperative to provide clear guidelines distinguishing between harmless social engagements and illicit gambling practices.

     

    Net-net

    The ambiguity surrounding gambling laws in India continues to confuse citizens and authorities alike. The absence of clear regulations leaves individuals hesitant to engage in harmless social activities like friendly betting pools. As we await clarity from policymakers, the question remains: can friends gather for a friendly wager without running afoul of the law? And are kitty parties, which are also a pooled lottery, legal? Until then, the legality of social betting in India remains a puzzle waiting to be solved.

     

    UNRESOLVED QUESTION.

    After all this reading and referencing, it is still to be determined if a closed group of people on WhatsApp can bet for entertainment with the least wager that would not financially ruin them.

    If someone has an answer, I would like to know about this election result predicting small wager betting among friends and about the Diwali teen patti among friends and relatives.

    And if it is OKAY- I still have time to set the betting among friends.

  • Election time, Mr Kahneman!

    Election time, Mr Kahneman!

    Avik ChattopadhyayOn March 27, the world lost one of its sharpest minds ever, in the fields of human psychology and behavioural economics. Daniel Kahneman was the undisputed master of the study of decision-making, judgment, heuristics, biases and human rationality. Getting the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2002 for his work, Kahneman finally put down all his thoughts and theories into one awesome compilation that he called ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ in 2011.

     

    As brand managers and marketers, all of us, inadvertently, have used one or more of his ‘behavioural patterns’ in our work. I unabashedly dipped my hands into DK’s work and do admit to not crediting him for the same in innumerable PPTs. I hope there are a few more like me as, going by one of his patterns, I too am a victim of the ‘confirmation bias’.

     

    Given that the world’s largest reality show is going to commence from April 19, the ‘dance of democracy’, through the seven chapters of its recital, would be a delectable ground for testing his key human behaviour patterns. On his behalf, here is my attempt at the same.

    Let us take each of the 10 key patterns DK espouses and contextualise it to the Indian parliamentary elections.

     

    Our brain uses two systems: System 1 and System 2

    System 1 is fast, intuitive and automatic. It is prone to biases and errors such as overconfidence.

    System 2 is slow, analytical, and deliberate. It is necessary for complex tasks requiring focused attention.

     

    System 1 is what most political parties resort to in their communication for the electorate. They are ably joined in by many media vehicles who leave no stone unturned to amplify these pieces of communication, building a smokescreen of rationality and people-speak.

     

    System 2 is what the ‘woke’ community indulges in, focusing on the actual issues at hand that need to be addressed in the communication campaigns rather than hubris.

     

    System 1 brain says that the lord shall redeem the faithful soon. System 2 brain reminds you that you are still unemployed.

     

    Irrationality

    Humans are not rational. We all make a lot of irrational mistakes.

     

    We will vote for personalities and not issues. We will vote for promises, most of which never get fulfilled, and not for present performance. We laud those who posture and not those who have the capability to actually perform. Right from middle school we are taught to ‘look before we leap’. From childhood, we are taught that ‘man is a rational animal’. Yet, as a voter, I think I understand what the nation needs better than the others and I am smarter than those around me.

     

    Prospect theory

    A personal favourite, the prospect theory suggests that people feel losses twice as hard as gains.

     

    DK cites an example that many people don’t want to play a ‘Heads or Tails’ game where they can win $100 but risk losing $50. He goes on to suggest that one should take this bet every single day!

     

    So, it is shrewd and politically diabolical to spin the web of being ‘wronged’ for centuries together, magnifying the narrative of the deprivation and current ills as a result of the same. Such a story told in a compelling manner can sway the emotions and minds of the most rational of people. History holds up many such instances. As DK himself says, ‘A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth. Authoritarian institutions and marketers have always known this fact.’

     

    Halo Effect

    The halo effect is a cognitive bias where your overall impression of a person influences your perception of their individual traits or qualities. If you like someone, you’ll overestimate their capabilities and vice versa.

     

    Don’t we all know this. Culturally, we love creating demigods of mere mortals. We address them as ‘fathers’, ‘mothers’, ‘saviours’ and even ‘sewaks’. The opposite is also true. We incessantly denigrate and abuse someone we do not support. We address them as ‘libtards’, ‘presstitutes’ and ‘pappus’. Little do we realise that verbal abuse is also a cognizable offence, yet we laud our political heroes when they frequently resort to the same, from interviews to rallies.

     

    Availability heuristic

    The availability heuristic is a cognitive bias where you judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily it comes to mind. Our behaviour during the pandemic is an example fresh in our memory.

     

    DK says, ‘The illusion that we understand the past fosters overconfidence in our ability to predict the future.’

     

    Sunk cost fallacy

    The sunk cost fallacy appears when you keep investing in something even if it’s not worth it, simply because you’ve already invested resources in it.

     

    To put things in context, imagine the pain we had to endure finish a ‘Pathaan’ or ‘KGF’ just because you bought the ticket.

     

    Similarly, in the election context, it’s about putting your weight behind a person or a premise not because you do not realise the fallacy of either but because you have been branded within your community as belonging to a certain ‘camp’. The emotional cost of moving out of line is just too high.

     

    Confirmation bias

    This is the classic one in most consumer research reports. People tend to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs and ignore information that contradicts it.

     

    DK says, “This is the essence of intuitive heuristics: when faced with a difficult question, we often answer an easier one instead, usually without noticing the substitution”.

     

    As a voter, always talk with people who have opposing views. It will be very insightful. We are currently in a state-of-collective-confirmation-bias where we go to any length to justify convenient lies, looking away from the inconvenient truths. And this applies to every political affiliation, right from an authoritarian streak to dynastic trends, anachronistic discourses to opportunistic divisiveness.

     

    Hindsight bias

    The tendency, after an event has occurred, to believe that one would have predicted or expected the outcome.

     

    This is reserved for the June 4.

     

    Framing effect

    When the way information is presented influences your decisions and perceptions, we call it a framing effect.

     

    We have always been fascinated with hyperbolic claims like ‘biggest’, ‘tallest’, ‘fastest’, ‘largest’ and ‘longest’. In fact, we have an entire book of records that chronicles such trivia. We prefer to see videos shouting ‘Politician A destroys Politician B’ than saying ‘Politicians A and B debate subject XYZ’. Even the nay-sayers resort to such methods of presenting claiming ‘the death of democracy’. This is like dhaba cooking… all masalas are added to anything that is cooked, just to make it spicier. Election campaigning does not move away from this recipe.

     

    Anchoring effect

    This is the last of the human behaviour patterns DK talks about. The anchoring effect is a bias where you rely too heavily on the first piece of information you receive when making a decision.

     

    This is where media and the IT cells play such a crucial role in determining how much of fake news is both created and perpetuated before it gets called out by one of the anti-fake-news activists. The damage is already done as the first piece of communication has already been amplified through social media. That damage can never be undone. And that is what every political party, sadly, banks upon…the deliberately created and circulated fake news, as our regulatory checks and balances are too slow and ineffective.

     

    I wish DK had visited India once in election time. He would have loved the empirical affirmations of the patterns he had painstakingly worked out. Having close to a billion people play out your biases and effects would be an experience of a lifetime.

     

    As he says in his book, ‘The premise of this book is that it is easier to recognise other people’s mistakes than our own.’

     

    Do not forget to revisit the ‘Hindsight Bias’ on June 4.

    Jai Hind!

     

    Avik Chattopadhyay is a Gurugram-based brand and business strategist and commentator. He is currently also working along with XLRI to set up the Indian School for Design of Automobiles. He writes on MxMIndia every other Thursday. His views here are personal.

  • Bias by Exclusion: News in the Times of Elections

    Bias by Exclusion: News in the Times of Elections

    Shailesh KapoorWe are exactly three weeks away from the first phase of polls in the General Elections. Expectedly, elections are dominating news coverage, and the action is only going to heat up over the next two months, leading up to the results on June 4.

    Historically, pre-elections and elections coverage on television news has been about programming ideas and access to the top politicians. The psephology part stopped being a differentiator a while ago, with opinion polls and exit polls being commoditised over time. Channels that could create engaging formats, have more feet on ground, and connect their viewers to the biggest names on the ballot, performed better than their competitors.

    Early indicators suggest that programming formats may not be the differentiating factor this year. Channels have maintained their typical debating formats, focusing on election-related topics, but barely breaking the template in the process. Yes, there is ground coverage, and it will pick up as we get closer to actual polling, but a lot of that is restricted to specific timeslots, often outside the primetime.

    What is striking is that channels have well-defined narratives, and are engineering their programming around it. In an election where most experts believe the outcome is a foregone conclusion, the narrative is easier to script. Yet, it is difficult to miss the political agenda behind these set narratives.

    For example, the electoral bonds data released by SBI a few weeks ago was arguably the biggest political story of March, till the arrest of the Delhi CM. But it was hard to find a debate on the electoral bonds on mainline news channels. Even as YouTube news channels covered the story in considerable detail, TV channels chose to turn a blind eye, barring a token story or two.

    Story selection is the most potent instrument of bias with a news channel today. Because if you choose to not show something, that’s the end of that anyway. One could argue that certain stories, like Manipur riots in 2023, do not generate ratings, and hence, are not commercially viable on mass television. That is a contentious argument anyway, given that principles of sound journalism would demand a separation between editorial and business. But with electoral bonds coverage, or the lack of it, even that argument doesn’t hold.

    It will be a pleasant surprise to see one of the mainline TV news channels stand out in the election clutter with an original and thought-provoking programming approach. Thankfully, there’s online news to fall back on!

  • The Distraction Economy

    The Distraction Economy

    Kunal SinhaIn a revealing experiment, American teacher Mary Garza asked her pupils to leave their phones on loud while they were in class. An unusual request, yes, but she wanted to show them something.

    Every time a phone notification went off, the pupil would then have to put a mark under the correct category for what the notification was for. The result was eye-opening.

     

    In the space of one class that is roughly an hour long, her students received a combined total of over 1,000 notifications from Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, text, email, calls and other social media platforms. That’s a notification coming in every 2.5 seconds.

    So every 2.5 seconds one person in class was being distracted by their phone, which obviously has a huge impact on their attention levels – and education.

     

    A few months ago, I sat in a presentation to a marketing director in Jakarta. Her boss, the country manager, popped his head in and informed us that he had to finish appraisals that evening. Now, they had fixed the meeting time and date. The marketing head had their laptop open throughout our presentation; we realised that they were doing their appraisal on WhatsApp while sitting in the meeting. Were they paying attention? Absolutely not.

     

    I have known CEOs who bring three screens to meetings, boasting they’re multi-tasking. Globally, managers especially struggle to maintain focus, with 683 hours lost to distraction annually. In fact, managers lost more than 100 additional hours of productive time compared to other roles, which averaged 553 hours lost each year – driven in large part by unproductive meetings and administrative tasks. Put another way: lost focus costs companies $37,000 per manager, compared to $21,000 for other roles.

     

    So, while marketing gurus harp on how we’re in the Attention Economy, I’d like to posit that what tech, marketing and entertainment are building is the Distraction Economy.

     

    Infinite scrolling and dopamine

    Today, the fastest growing sector of the culture economy is distraction. You can call it scrolling or swiping or wasting time or whatever you want. It’s neither art nor entertainment, just ceaseless activity.

    The key is that each stimulus only lasts a few seconds, and must be repeated.

    It has already become a huge business, and will soon be larger than arts and entertainment combined. Everything is getting turned into TikTok, an aptly named platform for a business based on stimuli that must be repeated after only a few ticks of the clock.

    TikTok has made a fortune by filling our screens with fast-paced scrolling video. And now Facebook—once a place to connect with family and friends—imitates it. As does Instagram, YouTube, and everybody else trying to get rich on social media. So long, Granny, hello Reels.

     

    The advent of infinite scrolling has marked a significant shift in how we consume content. When you watch a video on YouTube, the next video loads immediately. Netflix starts the next episode of your favourite show right away. Browsing Reddit reveals an endless stream of social media content.

    This is more than just the hot trend of 2024. It’s worrying because it could last forever—because it’s based on body chemistry, not fashion or aesthetics.

    Our brain rewards these brief bursts of distraction. The neurochemical dopamine is released, and this makes us feel good. So we want to repeat the stimulus.

     

    It’s human nature to seek predictability and pattern. In their absence, we search for them. So, we pull to refresh. Rewards aren’t guaranteed, and most of the time, we don’t discover anything remarkable. In the same way as we gamble, we continue to refresh in hope of a quick rush of dopamine.

    This is a familiar model for addiction.

    Chart by Ted Gioia

    Although we have endless founts of fun at our fingertips, the data shows that we’re less and less happy, says Dr Anna Lembke, Stanford University professor and a world-leading expert on addiction.

    We’re forever “interrupting ourselves”, as Lembke puts it, for a quick digital hit, meaning we rarely concentrate on taxing tasks for long or get into a creative flow.

    Only now it is getting applied to culture and the creative world – and billions of people. We are unwitting volunteers in the largest social engineering experiment in human history.

     

    Addicted to drama

    Even ‘distraction’ is just a stepping stone toward the real goal nowadays – which is addiction.

    Instead of movies, social media users get served up an endless sequence of 15-second videos. Instead of symphonies, listeners hear bite-sized melodies, usually accompanied by one of these tiny videos, just enough for a dopamine hit, and no more.

    This is the reason why two-minute episodes of “The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband” have been showing up on your content/ social media feeds lately.

    After exploding as a content format in China, micro-dramas are the latest content trend racking up views everywhere, showing in our feeds as we scroll. Delivered in two-minute episodes that have mostly been adapted from Chinese web novels, the market is already estimated at USD 5 billion.

    Thanks to TikTok, younger audiences gravitate towards bursts of content that adapt to their preferences in real-time. To feed this impatience, apps like ReelShort are creating minute-long, mini-dramas that are part TikTok video, part soap opera.

    ReelShort, owned by California-based Crazy Maple Studio and backed by Beijing-based digital content company COL Group, launched in 2022. And its format, which is already popular in parts of Asia, is taking off worldwide. In 2023, 7m+ people downloaded ReelShort in the US, while worldwide downloads surpassed 24m. It’s hardly alone: a slew of other apps – Sereal+, ShortTV, DramaBox, and FlexTV – are all vying for our short attention spans using the same recipe.

    These short dramas prioritise quick, oversimplified stories of love, wealth, betrayal, and revenge, sometimes featuring mythical creatures like vampires and werewolves. Stories of marrying into a rich family attract men, while stories with a powerful female protagonist in control of her life appeal to women.

    One of the highest-grossing shows on FlexTV is called Mr. Williams! Madame Is Dying. It’s a corny romance story about a love triangle, ultra-rich families, cancer, rebirth, and redemption, and it was adapted from a Chinese web novel that has nearly 1,300 chapters. The original story has been turned into a Chinese short drama, but FlexTV decided to shoot another version in Los Angeles for an international audience.

    The revenue model for these hits (pun intended) is not unlike that of a drug dealer’s.

    Unlike most streaming services, which require subscriptions, Chinese platforms for streaming and web novels use a business model of paying by the episode or chapter.

    Essentially, the first 10 or so episodes are always available for free, but once users are hooked, they need to pay a certain amount to watch each episode. It resembles the micro-transaction mechanism in mobile games, which Chinese companies, like the developer of the global hit Genshin Impact, also perfected. Users can quickly rack up thousands in payments by buying small items in-game here and there.

    FlexTV has a similar tactic. Viewers can pay $5 for 500 in-app coins, which in return unlock about seven episodes. A whole series therefore can cost around $50, but there are also small tasks users can do in the app to earn free rewards, like watching ads, posting about the app on social media, and doing daily check-ins.

    This is the new culture. And its most striking feature is the absence of culture or even mindless entertainment, as both get replaced by compulsive, repetitive activity.

    Are we going to see 2-minute micro-dramas from brands soon?

    —————

     

    Kunal Sinha is a senior strategy and foresights executive based in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is the author of several books including The Future of India’s Rural Markets and Raw – Pervasive Creativity in Asia. He writes for MxMIndia every other Monday. His views here are personal.

     

    Reference:

    https://impact.economist.com/new-globalisation/in-search-of-lost-focus-2023/

     

  • The MxMIndia Code of Ethics

    The MxMIndia Code of Ethics

    Every six-odd months, we publish our Code of Ethics. For more than ever before, the Indian media needs to adopt one and practise it.

    We are now part of the Digital Publishers Association of India and will follow the self-regulatory procedures set by it. Our editor is also a member of the Editors Guild of India and the Press Club, Mumbai. More than ever before, it’s important the media acts responsibly as must people around it.

    MxMIndia adopted a Code of Ethics even before it was launched. Although it’s on the site, since it could have become a blindspot, we publish it as our Big Story once or twice a year. This is the link to the Code: http://www.mxmindia.com/code-of-ethics/

    Read on…

     

    The MxMIndia Code of Ethics

    This code of ethics is not meant to be a treatise in ethics. We believe all MxMers are mature professionals, of sound character and have values we agree with.

    However, since a Code of Ethics is not really followed in organisations that some of our employees may have worked with in the past, we have a formulated an easy-to-follow set of Do’s and Don’ts that each and every employee has agreed to follow.

    Also, since there’s a general belief that many media companies (business-to-business and mainstream) follow unethical practices, it’s hence critical to put the record straight on why MxMIndia isn’t like the ‘many’ others.

     

    1. While the objective of MxMIndia is to be a profitable enterprise, our revenues will not come from compromising editorial standards. Excellence is what we are setting out to achieve, Ethically and with Integrity.

     

    2. We will not be influenced in any way by advertisers – past, present or future, and will write or comment on an individual, service or organisation regardless of whether or not it advertises with MxMIndia.

     

    3. We will not sell our editorial content. Content includes text, photographs, videos or any visuals.

     

    4. Accuracy in presenting facts is of utmost importance and facts must be correctly presented.

     

    5. We will not present any bias in our news sections. If, however, MxM India does undertake a campaign, it will clearly state its editorial policy

     

    6. If there’s any advertisement that could be confused with editorial content in appearance, it will be clearly tagged as an Advertisement and be displayed in a style that is different from normal editorial content.

     

    7. Our reports and features will always attribute sources to people. In case, the source does not want to be named for fear of loss of employment or due to some sensitivity, every attempt must be made to look for an alternate source who could be named. If that fails, every attempt should be made to make the reader rest assured that our source is authentic and this may be done by describing who the source is.

     

    8. We have a no tolerance policy towards plagiarism. Employees may be given a warning if found plagiarising, but in most cases, the services of any employee found plagiarising – regardless of her/his seniority or utility to the organisation – would be terminated within 24 hours of the Editor-in-Chief conducting his/her investigation on the act of plagiarism.

     

    9. If any attempt is made to influence us by way of a threat to withdraw advertisements, we reserve the right to expose such individuals and/or their organisations.

     

    10. We will not publish photographs off the internet. If a picture is be taken from the internet, it will be done only after written permission of the source. Else, we will own the rights for the picture which may be procured by buying rights for appropriate usage. Ditto for text. If we do carry syndicated content, the source needs to be clearly be stated at the end of the article.

     

    11. Our journalists will take the permission of the interviewee to record her/his comments, especially when the meeting is not face-to-face.

     

    12. Unless approved by the Editor, we do not part with the transcript of any interview. A journalist may however play back a few quotes attributed to an individual.

     

    13. We will allow individuals or organisations adequate time to revert with their response to a question. In most case the adequate time would mean four to six hours. If it’s a non-critical story, then we would recommend holding the story for at least (and at most) a day.

     

    14. We will not accept any gifts that attempt to influence us. These should be returned immediately. Gifts in the form of chocolates, mithai, flowers or basic promotional material that is of reasonable value (of up to Rs 750-1000) is fine. Mementos or promotional material of nominal value may be accepted. No gifts must be solicited. If there’s a doubt, please consult the Editor-in-Chief/CEO. If an organisation is found to influence an MxMIndia journalist, under extreme cases, MxMIndia may even blacklist the organisation and/or its products and services.

     

    15. We will not solicit any outstation trips. If however there is an invitation for a junket, we will accept it only if the Editor believes there is a news value in the event. In such a case, MxMIndia will mention that the journalist concerned has visited an outstation venue at the invitation of the company which must be named. For local travel, all our employees are defrayed expenses towards local travel, and hence we discourage taxi pick-ups or drops, as is the norm in some sections of the media.

     

    16. We will not solicit any invitations for a meal or a drink. We discourage MxMIndia employees to drink beyond their limits at events, dinners, press conferences etc where they represent the Company. We will also not solicit free books, software, movie tickets etc.

     

    17. MxMIndia employees are discouraged from moonlighting. If, however, employees do receive requests to write an occasion article for a non-competing publication, the employee could do it after seeking permission via email.

     

    18 .Unlike some media houses, we are happy to see our employees – regardless of their seniority levels – to be interviewed and featured in other media. However, prior permission is desired for every appearance on television. Employees must ensure that their work at MxMIndia doesn’t suffer due to their appearances on TV, radio etc. While tweeting, participation in social networks like Facebook and Linked In are encouraged, every attempt must be taken to ensure that the values and interests of the organisation are not compromised.

     

    19. We will ensure that our ethical standards are followed in all that we do – events, conferences and awards. We will ensure our integrity is not compromised.

     

    20. We discourage the use of pirated products and services for official use. We advise our employees to only use legally procured software. Employees using their personal computer equipment for work are encouraged to switch to legal software.

     

    21. MxMIndia has a no tolerance policy on sexual harassment.

     

    22. Our employees are not allowed to deal in stocks related to the media and entertainment sector. If they hold shares before joining the organisation, they must disclose their holdings in writing to their immediate boss. They could, however, invest in mutual funds related to the M&E sector.

     

    23. While this Code is only applicable towards conduct as an employee, we advise all MxMers to ensure that they are ambassadors of MxMIndia and all that it stands for even outside of work hours.

     

    24. Over the last few years, there have been question marks raised about the ethical standards adopted by journalists and media organisations. While a lot of it may be untrue, we believe that journalists and others working in various media organisations are also responsible for this perception. At MxMIndia, our attempt will be to reverse this.

     

    25. This Code is applicable for all employees of MxMIndia. Associates, retainers, columnists, regular contributors are also required to adhere to the above Code.

     

    We encourage all our constituents and advertisers to read the above document and cooperate with us and enable us to abide by it. If you wish to report a dishonest act, write directly to pradyumanm [at] mxmindia.com

  • Using Archetypes & Personification for powering Internal Alignment

    Using Archetypes & Personification for powering Internal Alignment

    Sanjeev KotnalaHave you ever played or watched the game of Tug of War or seen a boat race? If yes, you would know how collective synchronised aligned efforts bring the right results. And if the forces are not aligned, even having the best of the team cannot guarantee success. The same is true about business. Achieving success isn’t only a function of having the right resources or the brightest talent; it’s about aligning these assets effectively. Internal alignment, harmonising resources and human capital within an organisation is one of the pillars of productivity, innovation, and overall success. On the other side, non-aligned resources and human capital can lead to inefficiencies, discord, and, ultimately, business failure.

    Much has been discussed and written about the internal alignment that ensures an organisation’s resources, financial might, technological advantage, and operational assets are strategically aligned with its workforce and market demand. They thus reinforce each other, amplifying an organisation’s ability to succeed in its objective.

    Employees usually work towards achieving the organisation’s goals and objectives. Every employee understands how their work contributes to the mission and aligns their efforts accordingly. This creates a sense of purpose and commitment, driving the employees to work towards common goals with enthusiasm and dedication.

    Still, despite having the right type of people in the right place, we may not achieve the desired result. It additionally needs the right supportive culture and an atmosphere of collaborative teamwork, information sharing, transparency, and adherence to best practices. This gives the organisation agility and adaptability to respond quickly to the external environment.

    However, while focussing on these elements, we miss a critical element for internal reflection that can ensure the whole chain is aligned. We rarely create a picture of the entire ecosystem and the personification or archetype maps of people across the chain of command. We fail to map their perceived personification and archetype in multiple internal and external situations.

    Just imagine a situation when you have a dominant market share, a cracker of a product, a tiger of excellent sales and an after-sales team led by a Goat. Not the G.O.A.T but Goat- where you needed a Lion, a Tiger or a Leopard. And what if this Goat tries to play tiger with the team and is a chameleon of changing preferences and decisions with the top management? If this Goat, though nimble in the challenging market situation, is not as flexible and agile as a cheetah. What if your team is a dreamer led by a magician in a tough market like a desert? You can easily predict where the organisation is headed.

    Moreover, if the leadership shows different archetypes or personifications across stakeholders- it is a sure recipe for disaster. What if the sales head behaves like a tiger before the team and meows before the finance head, is seen as a monkey by the management and is a dog out on the field? Maybe it feels like an exaggeration because one has not tried archetyping and personification of teams and leaders across the stakeholder matrix of interaction.

    What if the management terms an open democratic interface is seen by the internal teams as a dictatorial stance and a ruthless world of illusions?

    Well, it will only lead to misalignment of image, perception and hence reactions to every plan.

    It will be an exciting challenge to do a quick personification and archetype exercise at the organisational level to see the multiple masks worn by different people while interacting within the ecosystem. This exercise will help superimpose the findings with the company or brand’s needs and ensure the gap is bridged through training or recruitment.

    In today’s fast-paced and hugely competitive business environment, organisations must recognise the critical role of internal human alignment beyond resources and directive understanding in driving success and achieving sustainable growth. Yes, this remains true even while organisations use AI for some of their operations.

    In addition to prioritising communication, collaboration, and transparency, articulating a clear vision and mission statement and ensuring every employee understands their role in achieving organisational objectives, they must create a well-aligned team like the Tug of War.

     

    Net-net

    Internal alignment of resources and human capital is critical for driving success and increasing organisational output. By aligning goals, incentives, and resources, companies can enhance efficiency, innovation, and agility, enabling them to thrive in today’s competitive business environment. Additionally, the organisation must look at the archetype and personification of the teams and their leaders to create a unidirectional force to pull the company towards its objectives.