By Jaisurya Das
Namaskaar and welcome to this special edition of Dear MxM.
I have heard that blowing ones own trumpet is bad manners besides it being a possible cause of throat discomfort. They often say that when you have a great brand you don’t need to make a noise about it… This is the exception to the rule. This is love.
It’s been just a week since we launched Pune’s most happening online magazine Pune365 and boy ! It’s been really overwhelming in every little way. From the amazing welcome extended to this baby to the comments and feedback that we have been receiving over the past few days.
Our founding partners brainstormed this over the past three months to be able to perfect a model for launch. For us, it was clear from Day1. We have to make it content-driven with content like never before on this city. Stories of the unknown, unspoken, unassuming, unpretentious and unbelievable people and places in this city, Capturing the subtle emotion and sensitivity was our biggest challenge..
Our combined experience of a century was at stake here. We had to get it to work to become an integral part of the city’s routine from the day of launch.
It’s been long since all of us actually rolled up our sleeves, made our own cup of tea (often lethargy moved us to tetrapacked chaas!) and set this up word by word. We hired colleagues with passion not bylines. We connected with friends, writers and journalist colleagues to invite them to feel Pune in this avatar.
God has been kind, very kind. We already have over 70,000 people who have been reached and have substantial returning visitors too. Something must be right I guess…and yet it’s a long mile. We shall trudge it with elan, for now we know the city loves this baby.
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Indian cities need passion and outstanding ideation to give them a place in the Sun. Pune this is your time! We love you, for we belong here.
You have made us what we are.
I tip my hat to this wonderful city and its people. Thank you for giving us a space in your heart. We promise not to let you down ever.
Time now to move from an ode to pune to this weeks Q&A with our readers from Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata and for the first time ever Bhubaneswar!
Recently the CEO of a rival company has joined my company. Now I have no issues with it, but it is difficult to report to a someone whom we have fighting against in the marketplace. What is your advice?
Thanks for writing in to Dear MxM, your friendly neighbourhood agony uncle.
I completely understand your concern with this situation. The interesting thing is that it affects only the scrupulously loyal and no one else. I can bet you a thousand bucks that there will only be a handful of colleagues who share your concern. For the rest, he is merely the new boss man!
Well, this is what the corporate world and headhunting is all about. Sometimes it’s not enough being equally good to win in the marketplace;
It takes guerrilla tactics and that as you know, spares none.
I know it sounds unfathomable to someone like you who is wedded to the company but do not forget that the marketplace is akin to war and in war there is no good or bad. Win or perish!
My advice to you would be to start accepting the fact that the new boss could actually make your company go places. Now that’s what’s important, isn’t it? So walk head high, for such a move is no less than a coup.
And, yes, why do you limit yourself by worrying about reporting into the new man? This is time you can leverage your experience and learn the tricks of the trade from a man who has seen it all. Help him settle down, share your experience and get on to being his confidante.
After all, good work eventually pays off no matter how long it takes.
Craft is for keeps. It is yours and no boss can take it away, Build on it young man and don’t waste your time on rumination.
Are newspapers worried that no one will buy them if they raise their cover price? What is the real reason?
No, no, this isn’t the case at all. It’s just that they dug their own grave with invitation pricing policies. Yes, it was a legendary move by the Economic Times a few decades ago that changed the marketplace..
In fact, not many know that this amazing manoeuvre was inspired by a Zoo! Yes, the crowds that thronged on a particular day of the week thanks to a ‘half-priced entry’ led to some brilliant thinking and brainstorming soon after.
The rest is history. The Indian media market was remote controlled by price and competitive pricing. Everyone had to follow suit wagging their tails.
Brilliant move, unparalleled thinking and yet in my opinion irreversible for many followers.
Today, years later, the same newspapers and media moguls are struggling to push up cover prices. India is price-sensitive no matter how affluent the audience is. Now, this is what wasn’t factored at that point of time.
Today, it isn’t about affording. It’s about habits and a super consumer-friendly environment. To add to this, the bogie of print getting extinct.
Yes, print in this avatar will die. Those who survive will be the smarter ones who will be quick to adopt and adapt to audiences of the future.
But do we really know who this audience is?
My twin brother and I both want to get into advertising. Now what if we join competing organisations. How does one cope with competition at home?
Ha ha! That’s a unique question indeed, but isn’t life all about competing?
As far as I know, we are competing perennially. Sometimes it’s life itself or with family, friends and even the environment at large.
So my friend, relax, for all these emotions are normal and pretty much a part of our interesting existence on planet Earth.
Both of you are professionals (or so I assume!) and hence it’s craft and only craft that will make the difference. In fact having a family member in the industry only helps exchange notes, greater learning and industry networking.
I can say this with vehemence, since all of us (we are three brothers) have spent a greater part of our lives in media. In my case I was the luckiest since I had two elder brothers who I could learn from.
Go for it bro, all will be good!
I recently found that the lights in my office are not bright enough. I think it has adversely impacted my eyesight. I informed my office administration staff. They said the bulbs can’t be changed because a lot of expenses have happened recently on LED bulbs. What should I do? Please advise.
Thank you for writing in to us! This is a common issue with a lot of workplaces since lighting design is an area that is most often neglected. Loads of money is spent on making the office space look nice, but when it comes to lighting, switches etc, corners are cut for reasons best known to the corporate.
In your case I am almost certain it is a lighting design & plan issue. If they have LED bulbs and fittings (Light Emitting Diodes) there is no reason for the office remaining inadequately lit. LEDs are exceedingly powerful when it comes to lumens and hence are cost effective since you need less wattage/sqft of area. Somewhere this has been mucked up resulting in eye strain etc to you.
Do your colleagues also complain or is it only you? If it’s only you, a change in your workstation would probably take care of it. It would also be advisable to have a complete eye check up from a good ophthalmologist to rule out any inherent eyesight malaise. If everyone has the same complaint and the management isn’t doing anything about it, It would make sense to invest in some good table lighting for your workstation. LEDs have made portable lighting exceedingly attractive and compact. A good flexible table lamp can ease your problem effectively.
May you have a really bright career ahead :).
It’s wind up time at Dear MxM this week but before we take our bows, I take this opportunity to wish all my friends the best of this season. May the almighty give you and your families peace, happiness and good health. Ramadan Kareem.
As always, Dear MxM will be back with you next Thursday with a super fresh bouquet of questions and plain talking answers ! Till then, keep writing in at editor@mxmindia.com superscribing the subject with ‘Dear MxM’and your ‘City’.
Accha toh hum chalte hain….
Jaisurya Das, the maverick media-evangelist eats, sleeps and romances brands.. His cerebral consulting interventions are aimed at making brands powerful and sustainable. Incidentally he is also a co-founder of www.pune365.com. He can be reached at www.xanadu.co.in, He is also Contributing Editor of www.mxmindia.com. The views expressed in this column are his own.