Tag: Das ka Dum

The question is self-explanatory, and we are sure we’ll have many questions around the IPL once the tournament starts. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das’s response to our March 23 question in Das ka Dum. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. IPL is set to start in three days from now (March 26). Your sentiments before the event? Is there enough buzz? Which team are you backing?

A. After 15 years, the popularity of IPL can’t even be wondered. I find the matches competing with Bollywood films in terms of entertainment value. From another angle, just imagine IPL’s contribution in strengthening India’s bench strength. So many new faces have been appearing as aspirants for the Indian team. And lest we should forget so many aspirations  from every part of India have made seeing dreams no longer as  a pastime.

To my mind, this is a mind-altering transformation in terms of attitude and self-confidence at both the individual and team level. This is the real benefit of IPL, beyond its entertainment value. And even after 15 years there is no sign of abatement of viewer interest in the tournament.  The buzz is obviously enough. I love all the teams. I am aligned to the game and want the best team to win.

Guess one needn’t give a context to the question. So let’s dive right in to Dr Bhaskar Das’s response in the March 22 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. If MxM says it’s the #1 website, would you trust us because as a news/views site we could say no wrong, or should all claims on consumption supremacy be looked at with suspicion?

A. In any deterministic pecking order, there is a quantitative and a qualitative aspect. Secondly, if there is an established industry currency (accepted by all relevant stakeholders), then the same can be quoted to buttress a “claim”.

While it’s generally valid for claims based on quantitative data , then reference point can be sliced and diced on various parameters and as a consequence there can be multiple postulations. The litmus test would always be which target market an advertiser would be aiming. But when one is advancing claims on qualitative basis (as in this case your claim), it is perfectly valid if you can present the “Richness” of your content (as opposed to Reach) and thereby high impact quotient amongst “affluentials”, then your business associates might get convinced. Some proprietary research, combined with empirical evidence of business associates (as part of advertising-led monetisation strategy and not subscription based emphasis) can lend credibility to your claim.

By now you must have internalised that a binomial answer isn’t possible in the context of your question.

It may have been a one-sided match, but for us in India, we were hoping that like Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand, Lakshya Sen would also bring home the coveted All England badminton trophy. We also read the news of Sen’s deal for commercial representation, and that’s what prompted us to ask this question. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das’s response in the March 21 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. He lost the All England badminton final, but has signed on an agency for commercial representation. Shouldn’t Lakshya Sen be concentrating more on his game and eventually make more money?

A. Lakshya Sen’s settling for silver must have been a disappointment for him, specially when he was at the cusp of creating a history. Signing a commercial representation might not have anything to do with it. The irony is success in one bring in its trail invitation from the other. I am not discounting  the possibility of distraction due to the offer but not necessarily. The world of cricket (even badminton) have enough examples to the contrary. The attraction of commercial representation is far less attractive to the glory of winning for the country, apart from individual excellence. Sen is young and I am sure it would not defocus him from his higher lakshya.

Regulars of Das ka Dum know how we love to contextualise various festivals and days to the advertising, media and entertainment sectors. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das this question for the March 17 edition of our series of Q&As with the Wizard with Words. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. Other than the festival of colours, the first day of the Holi festival also sees bonfires representing the triumph of good over evil. Do you see a lot of evil in our business as well? Fake news, rivals trading charges, etc etc?

A. Life is a journey where good and evil are two sides of the same coin. Good and evil reside in one’s mind. It depends on whom does one feed: good or evil.

I am sure you would not like the above spiritual interpretation as the instances mentioned by you and many other such examples are today’s realities and one needs to be always vigilant about it.  Any festival reminds us about the need for eternal

A fairly detailed question. And surely not right to brush off an entire business just because of what we see is a trend. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das this question for the March 16 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. Many large advertisers are beginning to buy media without media agencies as intermediaries. Given this and the growth of programmatic advertising, do you think the existing operations model of media agency needs to change?

A. It’s a fact that the advertising industry is going through a structural change. But that might not mean that it is facing less relevance. In fact leading agencies are engaged in addressing disruptions taking place in various areas of their operations,  be it at consumer end, technology end or at performance marketing end. So model change at the advertising agencies level is already taking place.

Beware the Ides of March! We couldn’t not check if our Wizard with Words gets suitably provoked with his answer. Ha ha. Some day, we hope he will. Until then, here’s Dr Bhaskar Das says in Das ka Dum dated March 15. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. It’s the day when you hear (some) people say: Beware the Ides of March. Anything that we should be careful about in advertising and media?

A. Yes, on March 15, Julius Caesar was warned about the Ides of March and it proved to be true in his case when he was murdered. I have no idea why the day has become inauspicious. But the rest of us don’t need to worry, unless all of  are surrounded by the likes of Brutus, perhaps.

Having said that, are we not been careful at individual and collective levels against many adverserial forces in life in general, whether in our personal lives or at the workplace? Besides, there are pandemics, pollution, threat of war etc that are affecting humanity at large. And they are neither confined to March 15, nor during the month of March. We have to be proactively alert about the future as it is getting increasingly uneven.

Without any further ado, let’s read what Dr Bhaskar Das says in Das ka Dum dated March 14. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. We see many senior executive movements in marketing and advertising. Would you say it’s business as usual?

A. A work-related transfer is often a route to help an employee gain wider and broader experience within the business, apart from an exposure to a multi-market, multi-cultural environment. Besides, a change of  work environment compels employees to adapt and learn to manage change and improve their  ability to deal with ambiguity, if any.

While the above are purported to narrate some meta points about transfers, this has been a long, established practice in a majority of successful organisations. The recency of the transfers that you have referred to seems to have some cognitive bias that favours recent events over historical ones. Net-net, it’s a normal career progression path specially for fast trackers in the corporate sector  (there may be some instances of ‘perceived’  punishment posting of course. But they are more exceptions than rules).

Hmmm. We’ll reserve comment on the question. Let’s read what Dr Bhaskar Das says in Das ka Dum dated March 10. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. A report last week spoke about two brothers who run a leading media company warring and heading for a split of the company. Now one may say that it’s regurgitation of old news, would you say these appear to be tough times for the behemoth?

A. Every business or every business house evolves with time. It is a good practice to reconfigure its  business units to adjust to either external market forces or for optimising focus on connected business units. It is better than suffering from active inertia and not taking any step. It might appear to outsiders that the trigger is tough times, but I feel it’s not necessarily so. In fact, tough times  don’t last, but tough companies/ people last. All decisions must be taken keeping in mind the interest of business, and not what is perceived by outsiders, who may not have any visibility of the operating imperatives.

Hmmm. We’ll reserve comment on the question. Let’s read what Dr Bhaskar Das says in Das ka Dum dated March 10. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. A report last week spoke about two brothers who run a leading media company warring and heading for a split of the company. Now one may say that it’s regurgitation of old news, would you say these appear to be tough times for the behemoth?

A. Every business or every business house evolves with time. It is a good practice to reconfigure its  business units to adjust to either external market forces or for optimising focus on connected business units. It is better than suffering from active inertia and not taking any step. It might appear to outsiders that the trigger is tough times, but I feel it’s not necessarily so. In fact, tough times  don’t last, but tough companies/ people last. All decisions must be taken keeping in mind the interest of business, and not what is perceived by outsiders, who may not have any visibility of the operating imperatives.

Hmmm. Well, you may well say that the Exit polls are clear in their verdict, right? But then they aren’t always correct. So let’s hear it from Dr Bhaskar Das in Das ka Dum dated March 9. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. The results of the UP elections will be known tomorrow. Given that UP is by the most important state, do you see the election result also impact the mood of the A&M industry?

A. State elections do not generally impact the mood of the A&M industry unless the results change the Centre’s approach to the overall business policies and a coincidental  change in geopolitical and socio-economic environment of the country. I am not underestimating the impact of the result on the political discourse in the country, but I don’t foresee any tremor on our business landscape.

The question is detailed. So let’s hear it from Dr Bhaskar Das in Das ka Dum dated March 7. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. We would like to refrain from commenting any further… in a sense, the question is laced with a comment. So let’s hear it from Dr Bhaskar Das in Das ka Dum dated March 7. Read on…

A. Any special occasion is an opportunity for brands to connect their cause-based purpose to its served audience market. Today’s consumer is intelligent enough to decode any approach of  tokenism to a purpose. It would be self-defeating for the brand  too in the long run.

It’s an unfair question to ask, because how can anyone give the perfect answer?! But, it’s when there are shades of grey that we turn to our Wizard with Words for counsel. Without any further ado, let’s hear it from Dr Bhaskar Das in Das ka Dum dated March 7. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

Q. Do you see the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine impacting adspends? Or too early to say?

A. Fundamentally we stay in a connected world and everything is going to affect everything, directly or indirectly. Ukraine isn’t going to be an exception. Secondly, these are early days of the conflict (may not be for the victims) since the sabre- rattling had started. One can only simulate multiple scenarios but the real scenario would alter differently, everyday.

But as Bertrand Russell opined once: war doesn’t determine who is right – only who is left. So we have to wait and watch the repercussions of this aggrandisement on business sentiments. Already some impact has started showing on oil prices and the auto industry. In short, the outcome won’t be very palatable for sure, if the war hysteria continues to escalate, irrespective of the sector.