Tag: Das ka Dum

So this is a serious question, and not around our industry. It’s to BD, the industry boss, but Dr Bhaskar Das, the academic guru. So let’s hear it from him in the November 18 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. The normal sentiment is that marketing is essentially about advertising and communications. Whereas it’s actually loads more. Can you offer our readers a quickie definition to dispel this myth?

A. One can’t put a tag of “normal sentiment” to rationalise a narrow perspective of a statistically insignificant and unrepresentative sample.

There are many definitions of Marketing. I don’t want to take a class on that. I love late Peter Drucker’s observation on the subject: the purpose of business is to create a customer.  The business enterprise, he opined, has two basic functions: marketing and innovation. For Drucker, marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Anything that embraces the whole range of activities for creation and sustenance of customers, concerns Marketing. Period.

Welcome back. Now that Diwali 2020 is past us, it’s a question we thought we’ll ask Dr Bhaskar Das. Especially since many put up lights and diyas with a vengeance. Could the oil in the diyas have been saved for the needy? Could the spends on electricity have been donated to charity. Here’s the November 17 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. A question which bothers us: Is it better to celebrate Diwali with lights etc, or save the money and donate to charity?

A. Any day it’s better to donate to charity. It brings light to others’ life. Celebration is important. But when one brings cheer to others, the happiness gets multiplied. Inclusivity is important for the dispossessed class.

It’s also Children’s Day tomorrow. A question for Dr Bhaskar Das for the November 13 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. It’s also Children’s Day tomorrow. Any memories of Bhaskar Das Junior that brings a smile on your face?

A. From hindsight, childhood is the best period of life with its innocence, happy-go-lucky bindaas life. But at that time feelings were a kaleidoscope of fun (sometime irrational even)  and emotional turbulence (examinations, not-so-good results etc). But net-net all memories were good for me. They were not episodic in my case.

Soft Diwali question. To those celebrating it today, Happy Dhanteras. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das and the November 12 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. Among other things, Diwali sees the celebration of ‘dhan’ and ‘lakshmi’.  What according to you is the greater wealth: health or money in the bank?

A. Very clear choice: health. When health is sound, wealth can be earned. But I would hasten to add that this binary sequence need to be interspersed with dynamic knowledge acquisition as survival probability of knowledge workers in post-industrial ecosystem is higher. So the equation is : physical well-being + dynamic knowledge acquisition = wealth creation.

This is a question for the morning after the IPL final. Presenting Dr Bhaskar Das for the November 11 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. You are a big cricket watcher: would you say that former cricketer-turned-commentators are better than those who have no cricket-playing past?

A. There should not be any such hard and fast rule. You have examples on both sides to defend a stand. The moot point is what the listeners or viewers prefer and consider as authentic. One can’t have a codified legislation on the same. In fact those who don’t understand the intricate nuances of cricket ( like me), they would never be invited to be a commentator. Commentatorship is an art and is based on sound understanding of the game and not about only commenting.

Readers of MxM would know that this is a question we’ve asked often. Why this special love for television? So we asked this question to Dr Bhaskar Das for the November 10 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. The government has instituted a special committee to look into TV audience measurement, when no such effort is made for print or radio or digital. Why this special love for television?

A. Even I have wondered like you. I can speculate an answer: first, TV is the largest medium. Second, as a visual medium, it has larger outreach and impact. Third, as big advertising monies ride on it, it might have been felt that measurement metrices need to be established robustly and without any controversy. I am sure tomorrow advertisers would ask for more data on other medium too where they have to invest, as performance marketing/ ROI would be a dominant norm for any marcom activity.

As an afterthought and come to think of it, one needs an authority on the subject to comment on your question. And I am not an expert.  But the advantage of a democratic country is that one can comment even if the understanding on a subject is suboptimal . But then the issue is: why did you ask the question? So, I was compelled to answer.

Of course we are going to watch the IPL final. But we asked the question to Dr Bhaskar Das for an insert in the November 9 edition of Das ka Dum series. 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. Nov 10 would see the IPL final as well as the Bihar elections results analysis at primetime. Watching which of these will give you greater joy and why?

A. I am a cricket fanatic… IPL will get preference for sure. I am apolitical. So, I have less interest in politics. The choice is clear

The question is self-explanatory. Let’s hear what our dear Dr Bhaskar Das says. Without further ado, the November 5, 2020 edition of the Das ka Dum series. 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 other day I was speaking to someone about you. She isn’t a marketer and isn’t from the media. While I have a great amount of adjectives for you (Gyaani, Wizard with Words, Superstar Salesman etc), I was at a loss for how I should describe you. Since you are now more into academics than industry, though it’s the latter that you are so well-known for. Can you help?

A. I wonder why a tag is always required to describe a person. But I understand that such artificial sobriquet is a standard behavioural procedure (SBP). You may try this one for me: I am a spiritual being passing through a temporary human experience.

It’s a personal peeve. We think this observance is regressive. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das this question as part of the Das ka Dum series. 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 karwa-chauth today. In many ways, it’s a regressive tradition. Should the media even cover such observances or festivals, if they can be called that?

A. I am of the opinion that while it is important for every society to constantly revisit its rituals, behaviour and culture and social mores. It is equally important to do so with empathy and objectivity. If an individual celebrates out of volition (and not under duress) inside the house, why should one brand it pejoratively or positively. Coming to coverage by media entities, it’s their decision. There is no black or white answer. After all media only reflects society.

Ha ha. We tried to put our dear Wizard with Words in a corner, but as always he put a philosophical spin on it. Here’s Das ka Dum by Dr Bhaskar Das. Dated November 3. 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 just had a webseries made on Harshad Mehta. If you were to select a person from the media who you think a biopic should be made on, who would it be?

A. There have been many luminaries in media in the past and present on whom such a biopic can be made. But for any biopic to be successful (at least commercially) some formulae are followed by any production house in terms of twists and turns, inspiration, milestones that provide national pride etc etc. These presuppose enough archives of episodic events to dramatise the chronicling of them into a docudrama. Since I have no data points on that, I can’t comment authentically on the same.

As the number of people (including in the media) testing positive is not going through a significant decline, we asked Dr Bhaskar Das this question. Here’s Das ka Dum dated November 2. 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. 01. For once being positive is actually a negative. The number of people affected by the Covid-19 virus is growing, including in the media. Your message or word of advice to someone who has tested positive?

A. What can’t be cured has to be endured. And endurance of the Covid-19 pandemic can be developed only through following circumspection about  the way we live our daily lives and developing immunity through following a strict regime of health including exercise and meditation. And not to forget that it’s also a time to upskill oneself (read change one’s mindset per se) to keep one’s powder always dry to pivot anytime to the demands of time.