Tag: Dr Bhaskar Das

We thought the percentage was too good to be true. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das a question for the July 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. According to the recently released Nielsen ROI report, podcasts deliver 71% brand recall. What’s your view? Isn’t the number of people listening to podcasts is inconsequentially low

A. I think these are early days for evaluating the efficacy of advertising in podcasts. The percentage growth, mentioned by you, depends on the sample size, the methodology and of course higher interest in the new medium. Also, a host-read advertising and its innovation of delivery could make a lot of difference in measuring the efficacy of the medium. Issues like who is being interviewed and how it affects the cohort of listeners, might not be possible to judge by a survey. It is bound to be unique by host, by guest and by subject. At this stage of development of the new medium, without any proprietary measurement currency, I can’t comment authentically. I think low usership at this stage of early adopters need not be a matter of concern at this stage.

An unfair question, but we haven’t ever prided ourselves around fairplay at least in Das ka Dum. Ha ha. Let’s read the response by Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 8 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. Any wishlist for the new dispensation in Maharashtra, assuming it lasts the balance 2.5 months?

A. My wishlist? You must be joking. I am so insignificant in the larger scheme of things, my comments are inconsequential. But there are many management lessons (apart from a game of chess) that we can learn from the episode. Since you want to know my wishlist, it is like of any common man: food, security, job, peace and entertainment: bas itna sa khawab hai.

The question doesn’t need any contextualising, so let’s dive straight into the response by Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 7 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. We see a lot of discussion on the state of legacy media in India. That it’s dead, alive or dying. What’s your view?

A. In the first place you have to clear about the definition or legacy media. There is a cliched definition, ie, media before digital media arrived on the scene. To my mind, legacy is a mindset issue.  Even Alphabet and Meta are a legacy company today in their space. But their mindset is future backwards and growth-oriented.  Thirdly, my favourite axiom is that morbid attachment to business models kills businesses. Aren’t New York Times or HUL or Coke legacy businesses? Why are they thriving even after spending 100 years or close to that on this planet. Culture destroys organisations. One has to ve born at regular intervals for renewal of vision as business landscape is in constantly shifting. Adoptability and adeptability are sine qua non for thriving in today’s environment.

We know he loves the game, and part of the reason for today’s question was to provoke him and contextualise it with the general chatter over the future of newspapers. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das and the July 6 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. Like in the case of the media, there were many who wrote off Test cricket, and the Birmingham India-England Test was so very exciting (even though we lost). As a species, human beings are very quick to write epitaphs?

A. Armchair astrology is not one of my strengths. Every format of the game of cricket (or for that matter every aspect of life and other forms of sports) has the innate resilience to rediscover itself in sync with the unarticulated intent to be in sync with tastes and preferences of the marketplace.

This is true for Test cricket too. Ishq hai to risk hai as one OTT episode dialogue opines. It’s true for every sport including cricket to keep the audience glued to its ever-evolving format. So: all epithets are largely bunkum.

You’ve got to read the response by Dr Bhaskar Das to get a view of how precarious the situation is. Here’s the July 5 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. When you see the main English paper with just 14-18 pages, what’s the message you get about the adspend economy?

A. First, I don’t find any reduction of edit content. So, as a reader, I don’t feel shortchanged. Secondly, page level is low due to a tepid business sentiment, so far as advertising spends are concerned. Besides, in the current economic volatility (thanks to the prospect of stagflation, geopolitical turbulence and repeated health scare et al), advertisers are preferring to opt for performance marketing which the digital media is tech-enabled to deliver.

Communication aimed for brand building has been relegated to the background. The blitzkreig of communication by a lot of start-ups and new industry categories have been suddenly experiencing a winter of funding and hence, they are recalibrating their approaches of profligacy for building brand buzz by investing in high-decibel communication blitz.

Hence, I feel  various formats of media delivery have been experiencing different degrees of headwinds. Hence, every business has to be wary of how they would circumnavigate the choppy waters of business in the near term at least. At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I feel this winter might prolong longer than expected for business. When advertising spend is approached with caution, every format that is over-dependent on advertising for monetisation, would be facing a challenge. So, tightening of belts may be a dominant norm of business for some time now. The larger issue is beyond daily page level.

A soft start to the week with a question that’s pertinent, we would say. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 4 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. Happy World Biryani Day! Other than give marketers an opportunity for promotions, do these ‘days’ really matter? So are you planning to have a biryani today? Now don’t give us a philosophical: the world is a biryani!

A. HWBD is nothing but a gimmick to create another day for celebration-led consumption. There is nothing wrong in doing so. But I am no fad-o-manic. So no biriyani to satiate my palate. Incidentally, the world isn’t a Biriyani, even philosophically. World is more akin to a thali with all varieties, spicy and sweet. It’s ultimately not about a day. It is about escapism from the drudgery of daily grind.

It’s our customary end-of-the-quarter question. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 1 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 July 1, and the end of the first quarter of FY 2022-23. Your view on Q1 for A&M&E

A. Guesstimate is a difficult exercise , when hard facts aren’t available with me for all A&M&E companies. The first quarter has gone well for most companies albeit at different percentile growth, depending on the individual brand’s competitive position and contextual perception, reach and richness ( including reputation). A brand can be in  growth curve in a decling industry or a brand can be in a decling mode in a growing industry. That’s where management and leadership skills make the difference.

I think the second quarter would be positive too, inspite of a looming apprehension of stagflation in India and the world,  “slowbalization” as an offshoot of geo-political complexities  and environment led uncertainties. The ensuing festive season and the reality of Indian growth story can act a positive tail wind for the industry.

We often quiz our Wizard with Words on international developments, as they could have some learnings for us in India. Like this one we asked Dr Bhaskar Das for the June 30 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. British softdrink brand Robinsons ended its Wimbledon sponsorship of 86 years as it is  “broadening its summertime reach”. It doesn’t really concern us in India, but would you say brands could lose out by exiting associations with long-standing sporting ties?

A. To take a call to discontinue a 86-year-old  association with a marquee sporting event like Wimbledon must be critical decision for the  company. I don’t have visibility to the factors that led to this decision, but in view of rising interest in other forms of experiential sporting events, it may be prudent to not to keep all eggs in one basket. So the cumulative TOM of the brand over multiple high octane sporting  events would ensure better salience . After all, every sporting event needs a refreshing and hydrating drink to energise it.

The PwC report was released last week, so we asked our Wizard with Words a question on one of its top findings. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the June 29 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 PwC report released last week indicates that while digital is galloping ahead, print is not dead yet, at least in India. But clearly one can’t be getting complacent. Comments?

A. Every report of M&E consultants for the future is positive in growth projections, post Covid/health care concerns, supply chain constraints and geopolitical volatilities. While the overall advertising spend pie is North directed, its individual distribution by media formats is constantly in a flux due to changing consumption paradigm. Some percentage decline needn’t mean that one has to write the epitaph of a medium. Directionally, the media owners should get a message that every strategy has an expiry date and it’s time to recalibrate it, rather than bemoaning dwindling share of advertising spend for a particular medium. Complacency in any business is a sure recipe for doom.

It’s a question that doesn’t have easy answers but it’s always good to know that we in India aren’t the only ones to be aggrieved but our media consumption measurement systems. We asked Dr Bhaskar Das a question for the June 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.

Q. Television measurement issues were much discussed on the sidelines of Cannes Lions 2022 as well given the question marks around Nielsen data? Looks like measurement is a worldwide concern?

A. It’s a fact that media industry has been taking increasing interest in developing appropriate media currency over the last few years. Marketers, multichannel text/ video programming distributors and other media owners have started internalising the shift in content consumption pattern and the need for more data about the burgeoning connected TV consumption and thereby advertising spend. This has created an opportunity to test alternative currencies and measurement tools and embrace new ways to plan, buy and measure media.

The future of media currencies depends on achieving holistic measurement across linear and digital platforms. It is critical that the industry develops high quality, representative data about connectivity with due importance given to privacy. This would also ensure future-proof data generation that would benefit the industry.

It was a happy week for the Indian creative forces at Cannes Lions 2022. So we asked Dr Dr Bhaskar Das a question on our wins in the June 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.

Q. Dentsu Creative is Agency of the Year at Cannes Lions 2022. Would it be right to say that Indian advertising creativity has arrived or was it always there and not recognised enough?

A. There is no doubt that Dentsu Creative becoming the Agency of the year at Cannes Lions 2022 is a huge achievement. I doff my hat to the whole team of the agency for bringing home this accolade from the festival. In fact, kudos to the entire Indian contingent for achieving the highest tally of medals in the festival.

While we must celebrate this year’s achievement, we should not surmise that Indian creativity hasn’t been recognised enough. Many factors play a role in the selection of winners of a creative communication. After all it’s a subjective decision and for a renowned festival like Cannes, it’s not fair to even arrive at such a conclusion. Over the years, Indian creative fraternity have made its mark on the world stage. It has reached its zenith in this year’s festival. I am sure the results would give impetus to the community to excel further in future.

Some food for thought as we end the week. Presenting Dr Bhaskar Das in the June 24 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. As someone who is now zipping through the expressways of the Metaverse, what would your advice to be a marketer targeting Gen Z-ers, as they are the original inhabitants of that world

A. These are early days for me. I am learning myself now about the wonderland. So I won’t have the audacity to even be prescriptive on the subject.

Having said that, a few meta cognitive points can be shared as my leanings:

1. Sell experiences, not products (need to be perpetually serendipitous)

2. Video need to a dominant route to engage

3. Recalibrate influencer strategy,

4. Engage with customers (interaction-based)

5. Trust, transperency and security are a MUST

6. Environment sensitivity needs to be high in priority.