Tag: Dr Bhaskar Das

We’re happy to be back with a week, with a question that’s left a large number of people divided. Here goes Dr Bhaskar Das in the August 7 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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Q. Air-India is rumoured to be mulling dropping the Maharajah as its mascot or perhaps pushing it to the background. What’s your view? Old is Gold or time to look at things afresh?

A. There are empirical evidences of validation of both the approaches, as mentioned by you. The latest example being the change of name of Twitter to X after 17 years without any classical calibration. Will it be a super success? Only the future would prove that.

I agree that the mascot of Air India has been iconic and legendary. But as a brand, the sheen of Air india in all aspects of marketing including business outcome and customer satisfaction has been dwindling in a sustained manner. I am reasonably convinced that with the takeover by the Tata Group, the image dimension would be refurbished in every area of the brand’s business. With changes all around of Air India’s ecosystem, looking at things afresh might be good idea to get rid of legacy negative perceptions of the brand.

What’s your view on Twitter changing its identity? We asked our Wizard with Words for his views, and here goes Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 28 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 or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. Your view on X? It’s finally more than just a change of name and identity. For many, it’s a way of life…

A. I recall that when Musk bought Twitter October last year, he laid out a vision for an “everything” app called X, where users could communicate, shop, consume entertainment, and more. Last June — prior to his takeover — Musk told Twitter employees that the platform should be more like China’s WeChat, where he said users “basically live on” the app because “it’s so usable and helpful to daily life.”

So, I agree with you that this move is more than a mere change of name and identity. According to Twitter CEO. X is the future state of unlimited interactivity — centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking — creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect all in ways which the audience is just beginning to imagine.

If we see the change from the above prism, I think Musk has a mega-plan. That he has an obsession for X as a letter is well-known by now.

But I can imagine Musk would face quite a few challenges on the way to match the brand provenance of the blue bird with X. Besides, the letter is so common that I won’t be surprised that there would be legal challenges for getting an exclusive right of the letter X. Secondly, analysts perceive that Musk’s move would wipe out anywhere between $4 billion and $20 billion in value. I don’t have any supporting data on the same. I am going by public domain speculations.

Now, one has to wait and watch if loyal users of Twitter would switch their loyalty or a new set of users would come. Would the Brand Musk be stronger than the Twitter Brand? Only the future can answer this question. But as the adage goes, if one has to be a path-maker, one has to be path-breaker.

It’s an issue we feel very strongly about, but, sadly, there are few takers for the cause. So we asked our Wizard with Words the question. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 27 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 or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. Civic infrastructure in our big cities get really stretched every monsoon. Do you think the media should be more focussed on all of this than some silly political issues?

A. I can’t comment on the content priorities of media companies due to my sub- optimal comprehension of their audience psyche. So “no comments”.

Having said that, I would like to add that no one is bothered about aam janata and their sufferings in respect of civic amenities. The sufferings get compounded in rainy seasons specially. There would be blame-games, denials etc, but the core problems remain unaddressed and then life goes on. The tax-payers are going on paying taxes but they wonder why they have been paying price for a collective failure in ensuring a minimum level of civilised existence. Perhaps as citizens, our slacktivism has degenerated into a fatalistic attitude about our daily life.

A serious, straightforward question, and a serious, straightforward response. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 26 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 or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. As a vehicle which reaches a smaller but decidedly relevant audience for marketers, do you see the AVOD pie increasing to vie for ad spend budgets in the coming years?

A. The overall size would certainly grow for some more time but the distribution across formats of delivery would continue to get redistributed, depending on where the relevant audience for a product/ service or idea is getting aggregated and engaged. This is of course the usual grammar of media planning and buying. What would be different would be the (if not already being experimented) way communication would be crafted and delivered in as much as personalised manner and AVOD won’t be a dominant route of survival for any media per se. In other words, as delivery formats multiply, many monetisation routes would emerge. Over-dependence on one route (AVOD), seems, as of now, to be a sure threat to a business model of an enterprise.

If you thought the response by our Wizard with Words would be a ‘yes’, you must read the response here. Without further ado, here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 25 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 or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. We’ve seen a frenzy in the recent past with the marketing of some big banner Hollywood titles. Do you think movie marketing could be a worthwhile career choice for true blue CMOs in India

A. Frankly speaking, as a student of marketing myself, I would not fantatise about building a career through movie marketing and going up the ladder in corporate hierarchy in that space. This is not to say that the task would be boring but with Covid and the rising popularity of OTT platforms and the array of content options they offer, the sheen and attraction of a career in movie marketing is withering away fast.

A provocative question to start the last full week of July. And the answer from Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 24 edition of Das ka Dum is a must-read for every A&M mediaperson. Read on…

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

Q. From your interaction with all the digital advertising folks in India, do you think they really understand Artificial Intelligence? Or is their awareness all artificial?

A. I don’t claim to have exhaustive interactions with so-called digital folks specially focused on the kind of query you have raised. But with my finite knowledge on AI, I may try to share a few top-line macro points on the subjects, irrespective of the level of understanding of the practitioners of the industry.

1. AI can meet the creative industry’s need for accentuated imagination (AI in another expansion of acronym)

2. As hyper-personalisation demand goes up, AI can rise to the challenge if one knows how to leverage it.

3. AI can create exciting and engaging new formats for storytelling and embodied experiences for consumers

4. Embracement of the various tools of AI (augmented intelligence – again another expansion of acronym) to increase performance,  efficiency and improve output

5. AI can Improve creativity and create elements for any storyboard more impactfully.

6. AI, creativity, and learning are interlinked and will form part of mainstream learning.

Net-net, progress  in AI and ML will enable brands to move at the speed of consumer/ country specific culture and get ahead of shifting sand of consumer tastes and preferences.

Practitioners need to see the writing on the wall rather than pooh-pooh the same as artificial. As they say, jhuk jao, ya toot jaoge. And that’s official.

A Friday question, a Monday answer. Presenting the one and only Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 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 or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q.  Myntra is using an AI-generated image of actor Rekha as Barbie. After wax structures at Madam Tussad’s, Barbie dolls be the next big thing for actors.

Your view?

A. That films in India has a memetic impact on the escapism-seeking (even bordering on obsession) Indian audience is stating the obvious. The look of some of the leading heroines lend themselves to Barbie’s current preference for inclusiveness of multiple cultures (eg brown skin) and other society specific nuances to intensify its brand appeal.

But to predict the aforementioned trend as the next big thing appears at this stage is an exaggeration. A topical subject may not sustain as a trend — fad and style may not be synonymous.

We thought we could provoke our Wizard with Words to give a controversial response. No such luck. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 20 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 or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. What’s your view on Amitabh Bachchan on signing on just about any brand/service that wants him?

A. I think the question is unkind to Big B. We know which brand he endorses. But do we have visibility of how many offers for endorsement he rejects? Secondly, Big B is a cult brand himself and organisations feel that an endorsement from him would add gravitas and higher salience to their brand. Big B isn’t forcing any organisation to offer him endorsement as a favour or as a pro bono gesture. And if one goes by the theory of demand-supply as an important variable for pricing a product, I would like to imagine that Big B’s endorsement would not come cheap.

Brand-owners aren’t irrational enough to invest in any promo tools that don’t justify their ROI. So it must be win-win for both the sides.

All said, one has to admit that Big B’s aura, even after more than five decades of dominant presence in the film industry, is exemplary and he is an epitome of smart work, commitment, discipline and passion. Brands wants to get rub-off from that halo. One blame him for that! He is the Roger Federer or should it be Carlos Alcaraz of the tennis world. The only difference is that even they fade at some point of time , but Amitabh Bachchan as a phenomenon is still shining bright.

Straightforward question, straightforward answer. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 19 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 or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. Are CMOs too focussed on market share of a product/service as a measure of sucesss? Or should the primary focus be on profit?

A. I feel market share is a key indicator of a company’s market (read segment/ category) competitiveness. When a company increases its market share, this should automatically improve its profitability. This is generally expected to happen as companies increase in size, they can also increase their scale. This, in turn, enables a company to offer optimal prices that balance profit, profitability and growth, thereby limiting the possibility of competitors’ growth.

In essence, I mean a profitable market share growth should be the dominant objective of a CMO.

The question was meant to generate a provocative answer, but we couldn’t manage that. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 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 or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. July 16 was observed as AI Appreciation Day. That someone celebrated a day as that indicates artificial intelligence as in vacuousness. Right?

A. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been transforming the way we live, work, and interact with technology. With a view to recognising  and appreciating the impact of AI on human  lives, celebration of Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day happens every year on July 16. This special day provides an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of AI and its potential to shape our future. Hence it can’t be a reflection of AI’s vacuousness.

While on the subject, I would love to add artificial Intelligence is hardly artificial (literally though) and more about intelligence. As the so-called homo sapient, human beings quite often act artificial for socially accepted projection. Also, as ChatGPT can be misused by a user with malevolent or deviant intentions, so can be AI. Then it becomes a different story. But these side-effects are unavoidable hazards as machines have no role to play in it. It serves the master. Do you think Oppenheimer even dreamt of what’s happening to his nuclear invention? But that’s another story, for another day.

What’s your view on the issue? Read the response by Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 17 edition of Das ka Dum and decide for yourself. Read on…

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

Q. Former Hindustan Unilever boss Sanjiv Mehta has said his successor is going to face stiff competition from homegrown players (Reliance, Adani and numerous smaller players). Would you say that hyper-competition will only improve life for us consumers? Or will it get more complicated?

A. I agree with Mr Mehta’s observation. In fact it’s true for every FMCG category. One the one hand, there is intensification of regional players, both at price level and substitute/ alternative level. On the other, there is the entry of new players with deep pockets and staying power (read more and sustained ability to absorb loss and deeper understanding of Indian market).

Coming to your second point, there are two possible ways of looking at it which you have included in your question ie yes too many options might demand/ compel a more calibrated engagement on the part of consumers. Note: the intensity of competition would compel organisations to focus on innovation, brand-building, leveraging technology to improve services and continuously engage with their stakeholders through both analytics and ethnographic insights.

A serious question for a Friday, but it was important that we asked. So here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 14 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 or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. There is a growing movement in the UK for advertisers, marketers, and PR professionals to cut ties with companies involved with fossil fuels. Do you see this happening in India as well? And if it does, will the various players pay heed?

A. I can’t argue against businesses and brands that have the responsibility to contribute to building a better world. And millennials and GenZs are pretty concerned about some such issues, as all public domain research suggest so.

But, in many ways, we as human beings aren’t as sapient as we project our behaviour in a socially acceptable manner. My intention doesn’t purport to be pessimistic. I am observing all around me (not necessarily a representative sample) dominant behaviour patterns that are not necessarily always environmentally conscious. I am conscious that one can’t expect 100% of humanity would shift to a socially and environmentally behaviour overnight. In fact a snowball effect usually happens for any shift in behaviour when the new generation becomes the harbinger of an attitudinal metamorphosis.

Coming to behaviour of Indians (both consumers and marketers), I don’t see any behavioural shift would happen in the near term. There are economic reasons of course. We have not seen such a big shift in case of the advanced economies who are allegedly responsible for a socially irresponsible behaviour for anything to do with climate change, poverty, war etc. I feel it would be a slow burn for any impactful behavioural shift , but as a beginning, I wish, such a shift towards responsible corporate behaviour starts forthwith.