MxMIndia

Tag: SANJEEV KOTNALA

  • As Sanjeev Kotnala takes off for the Adfest at Pattaya in Thailand, he lists some of the standout sessions he plans to attend

    Sanjeev Kotnala: What’s hot and not-so-bad at the Pattaya Adfest

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    As you read this, I should be on way to Pattaya answering the Adfest  war cry ‘BE BAD’.  With Pattaya that sounds just great. On deeper thoughts it is asking you to be bad in a good way. Quoting from the fest site ‘Take up the rallying cry and take your clients out of their comfort zone. Shake it up. Be bold. Get them in your corner, fighting for provocative work and the art of creativity. Join together and make something you are proud of and that makes them great. “Be Bad” more often, for the sake of your clients and for the hearts of their customers and aim to win awards….. Success demands commitment and bravery from both clients and agencies. It needs the conviction that finding a new angle will disrupt the status quo; an instinct that bucking the system will shake up the market; the passion to challenge the norm, the average and the mediocre. It needs more of us to “Be Bad” – in a good way!’ I am always impressed by long copy and such powerful speak to say ‘Have Balls’.

     

    Now, the best way to take most out of such engagements is to pre-lock-in the sessions you plan to attend. Here is my interesting initial short pick.

    1. WE WILL FIX IT IN POST by Adam Tunikowski (CEO & Creative Director), Michal Dwojak-Hara (Head of Animation & Creative Director), Michal Misinski (Art Director) and Natalia Lasota (Producer).

     

    Something we always hear during projects.  Session will us help understand the importance of postproduction and the value of the Creative Agency team working closely with the postproduction team. We in India know that already. My interest is anchored on a statement ‘It’s not always the truth that if you make something for a smaller budget, in a shorter time, you will have to compromise on quality, they promise to present a fourth element, which makes it possible to create great quality projects in a short time and with a small budget. And we will explain why we have to be bad to make it happen;. Something we all would want to know.

     

    2. ROI OF THE BAD: DO SHOCKING ADS REALLY WORK?’ by Hando Sinisalu, Ceo Estonia. Addressing  a long due debate on  award-winning ads. Do shocking ads really work. Do they actually harm brands?  My interest lies in the session promise to share the secret ‘what kind of ads are actually harming the brand’. See the ROI on Pattaya improving with each session.

     

    3. STORYTELLING IS THE NEW BLACK.   By Jonathan Samway. I would personally agree with the thought ‘We’ve moved further and further away from our most important job, to tell stories that engage people. We’ve been seduced by quantity over quality. How many eyeballs did we collect? How much media space did we have to buy to collect those eyeballs?’… the days have changed  ‘We watch what we wanna – anywhere, anytime… and in this time btands are better telling stories that the people chose to engage with’. And you know its all about the art of storytelling that pulled me in.

     

    4. YOU ARE THE HERO NOT A TARGET. THE NEW ERA OF STORYTELLING. Creative directos Kazuaki Hashida and Takahiro Hosoda  are going to expand on the thought ‘It’s no longer appropriate to consider consumer to be a “target” that simply accepts or receives something. Instead, we should conceive of them as heroes who actively live out rich narratives, which we call lives… we need a story for our hero: Not media to communicate, but a stage on which our hero can act’

     

    5. THE TIDAL WAVE OF TRANSMEDIA. Chung Chung Chan, HK Design Institute.  ‘All media are merging while the lines between the technology sector and the entertainment, media and communications sectors are blurring thus context of media today is evolving a methodology called Transmedia’. Transmedia storytelling encompasses a range of factual and fictional story forms including stories with multiple strands that take place across diverse media platforms, including film, television, internet and mobile devices as well as live events and alternate reality game, Transmedia acts both as a creative technique for story extension and as a marketing tool to reach a broader and more diversified audience.’ I agree this been mismanaged. THIS WILL BE PRIME LEARNING TIME.

     

    6. LET’S GET REAL WITH AUGUMENTED REALITY. Exciting advertising opportunities that Virtual & Augmented Reality bring to brands . Playing real blind in this one.

     

    7. CIRCLE OF TRUST. Sidharth Loyal; Brand Strategist. My most favourite subject and issue within the industry. ‘The enemy within is trust, and it is a key ingredient missing from most client/agency relationships, which causes and explains inconsistent work, frequent pitches and high people rotation in the industry. The session expects to create that awakening to make us  “Be brave” in widening our circle of trust; giving people credit; and sharing ideas.

     

    In the time that is left- which is quite a lot. I AM GOING TO BE BAD… NOT TOO BAD. There is the ‘Pattaya International Music Festival’. May be scuba. May be another skyjump.  When I come back I will have stories that could begin with, Once upon a time in Pattaya…..

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance its interanal team’s potential and capabilities instead of depending on external resources. He is a Management, Marketing and Braand consultant and conducts specialised workshops in the area of IDEATION (Harvest and Liberate) and Innovation (InNoWait). To contact email sanjeev@intradia.in  or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in  www.sanjeevkotnala.com.

     

  • The media, advertising and entertainment industries play a big role in driving home the message to women that why instead of having a week, a month or even a year of equality, why they can only have just one day, on March 8, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: 8 ways Indian Media & Entertainment undermines women

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    It was Women’s Day on Sunday and there were celebrations across our world for women. Every one of the events organised to commemorate the day screamed: “You are a lesser being, but this is the one day we will allow you to be you.” But only as per our ideas and standards.

     

    I write this when, in Mahrashtra, ‘beef’ is a worse four-letter word than rape. When the government stops you from viewing documentary films like India’s Daughter. Nowadays, we see many topical and tactical campaigns around women’s empowerment, safety and protection. But most of these are driven by commercial or brand advantage, than real intent.

     

    At every step, we tell women about their place in society. We remind them why instead of having a week, a month or even a year of equality, why they can only have just one day, on March 8.

     

    The media, advertising and entertainment industries play a big role in creating and perpetuating this sorry state of affairs. It is good that they are trying to make amends for this, but for now it appears that it’s all still lip-service. Here are eight ways in which these sectors have contributed to this situation

     

    1. Creating women stereotypes: In process, cleverly establishing stereotypes within various relationships

    2. Exploiting women’s bodies as the biggest-known sales and advertising prop in the business.

    3. Showing women as scheming and crooked on Indian television, in the roles of the mother-in-law, sisters-in law, the wife etc

    4. Creating the perpetual ‘paranormal’ bait. In case you haven’t noticed, it is always a woman who appears possessed. Oh, and this has nothing to do with the increased opportunities for skin show

    5. Promoting and glamourising unwarranted ‘item girl’ songs in films. Besides, the ‘item number’ is no longer the preserve of the vamp, but is now part of the territory of the mannequin-like heroines.

    6. Creating that ‘penny-wise pound-foolish’ Discount Queen image of homemakers who get drawn to ‘50% off’ sales tags.

    7. Creating media hype and sensationalising women-centric stories only to discard them when they hit the decreasing marginal commercial curve. The media industry has often been guilty of not seeing these through to their logical end.

    8. Awards felicitating women achievers are often created as a separate category. This is a reflection of the reality that as men, we remind women that we are superior and you have no chance of competing with us. Have you ever heard of a women-only jury selecting male achievers?

     

    If all of us decide that instead of talking global we will act local on this issue, taking it right into our micro-social environment. We will celebrate, respect, support and promote women throughout the year in their own right, and not as defined by some relationship to us. If we can do this, we will have won the right to celebrate women’s day as it should be done.

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is a leading management, marketing and brand consultant is Head Catalyst at Intradia. He can be reached via Twitter at @s_kotnala. A version of this view first appeared in ‘dna of brands’ dated March 9.

     

  • The shift toward digital is a Darwinian evolutionary moment. We can naturally expect creative expertise gyrating and focussing in it than on other mediums, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: The Darwinian Evolution in Advertising

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Darwin’s Theory explains the evolution of living beings. It hints that we tend to discard and lose control of a skill or expertise if

    1. We rarely use it
    2. We are conditioned to think that it is of no use
    3. We find better alternatives

     

    Similarly, on the other end, we evolve, create, discover, develop and further strengthen important skills essential for our survival. Business evolution demonstrated this effect in form of services and formats. And advertising is no different.

    Let us for a moment consider the art of print advertising. There was a golden period when print was the lead medium. We had senior creative resources proudly involving themselves in campaigns that were primarily created for print. We had long copy, short copy, smart copy, engaging copy, brilliant headline and in sync visuals. The still shoot pre-production meets were a demonstration in the art of detailing. If the visual did not give you professional orgasm, copy teams would wield magic and the campaign would came alive.

    In those days, you had not many ways to alter or Photoshop. If you had to do it, it was extremely expensive. With the introduction of ‘System’, the first causality was detailed planning. Now you could think of driving with eyes off the road. The art director remote supervised knowing corrections could be handled cheaply on the system.

    At the same time, the affair of creative with the new girl in town ‘TV’ was finding new pleasure spots. Slowly with TV, and then with the mobile, the focus shifted to audio-visual or at least visual centric. The same people who would eulogise copy started questioning who reads it anyway.  In a Darwinian way, copy started getting limited to headlines and maybe some body copy. The copywriter’s role was now restricted to provide a single sentence cryptic clue to an overtly over layered visual communication.

    Further evolution banked on ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ making copy almost extinct. In many cases if tag lines was the copy.

    Additionally, no one in the industry noticed or applauded print work. But even a mediocre TVC could get better exposed and remembered. Creative did not carry clippings with them. The TVC was seen and easily referenced.

    With print ads still being released and newer categories evolving with it overall revenue continued to grow.  The gamekeepers in media (print owners) failed to notice the sudden drop in interest in print. They never  reacted, not even to do damage control.

    We are currently witnessing similar evolution from traditional (read TV) to Digital. The creative is happy with the extra time they get. There is no pressure to make every frame count and deliver the story in 20 seconds. The format is easy and low cost. The cost of experimentation and failure is low too. More so ‘Digital’ is highly responsive interactive ‘System’. It allows tweaking and corrections online instantaneously.

    I fear that soon creative will forget the art and science of making smart TVC. They will make AVs, six-second story statements, three-minute films, interactive audio and many more equally engrossing formats.  The idea of storytelling, engagement, and involvement will find its true solution. TV will feel the pinch sooner than expected both in media deployment, creative quality and client’s interest. Internet may become the lead medium much earlier than we think. Remember, this is a vicious cycle. Inefficient creative makes low impact, gives low ROI and in turn kills the interest, involvement and then the  medium.

    Moreover, this is one industry that may boost having highest number of professional and support bodies per 1000 people engaged but does not discriminate on qualification and experience. Everyone is welcomed to test his or her hand. There is no real licensing or professional requirement. No qualification is required in this nomadic profession, which is insecure about next revenue slice. It has been trained to quickly shift and adapt to the newer opportunities. It makes it easier if it needs lessor expertise and effort.

    We have seen it happening to Strategic Planning and Communication given the strategic role they used to play. These were roles that agencies performed and were respected for. In the period when advertising agencies were splitting like the Russian federation, they let go of many advantages to seek glory in niche areas. They forgot the need for consolidation and scalability. Other than few smarter larger bodies, most failed to see the multi-brand multi-vertical structure in their clients and learn from it. Result, slowly they stopped questioning briefs and market dynamics. Waiting for this opportunity, in walked consultants and advisors. Most of them were the rigid unaligned senior resources from advertising industry itself.  This led to ‘vendorization’ of the profession.

    In a Darwinian evolutionary shift, client servicing and planning got listed in extinction list. They had lost their importance with every passing campaign. Their role been taken over by laptop carrying care-for-business creative leaders. It was also the survival of fittest that required cost cutting where the axe first fell on defunct departments and people.

    The two tectonic plates were pressing against each other. One was the plate of decreasing roles, responsibilities, accountability and expectations. As clients saw less and less reason to pay premium for the service, the fight for revenue became intense. Agencies went on to undercut and bend their back for every possible thing. Naturally the senior management in client saw the opportunity to get the right department ‘Purchase’ come into act.

    The law of attraction works. ‘If you really passionately believe and seek something, the whole universe aligns itself to make it happen’. Today, when some of the large dominant creative and media agencies been promoting digital with that fervour, it is working. Creative is willingly moved towards a larger canvas that is magical. It allows them to play at a very low cost with a low cost of experimentation and lower risk of failure. Guaranteed is the god-like online control to change and tweak.  So, there is no way the digital train will stop. It has built the momentum and will gain speed.

    Traditional media meanwhile can try not only to try delay the inevitable but also maybe re-create it to include them. There is no point fighting digital. The worry still remains the dwindling skill sets and expertise within creative resources to effectively exploit traditional media. The excitement and involvement with it is rapidly decreasing. Maybe, this is a battle print may have lost some time back and TV seems to be on the way.

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance its interanal team’s potential and capabilities instead of depending on external resources. He is a Management, Marketing and Braand consultant and conducts specialised workshops in the area of IDEATION (Harvest and Liberate) and Innovation (InNoWait). To contact email sanjeev@intradia.in  or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in  www.sanjeevkotnala.com.

     

  • It is doubly tough to rebrand in the digital age. To wipe out earlier impressions. don't allow default branding, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Branding by Default (+ on Amazing Thainess in Pattaya)

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Let us play a small game. When I say ‘Bungee Jump, Skydive, Scuba Diving, Flying fox, Beaches, Wind Surfing, Water skiing, Snorkel, Parasailing, Go-karting, Golf and Long Boat Racing’, which city comes to your mind? Let me add few more cues, ‘Coral Island, Elephant Village and Underwater Walk’. And the confusion would be resolved if I shared the last cue: ‘Happy Ending massage and The Famed Walking Street’. The city that immediately shouts for attention is Pattaya, the popular nightlife-based beach resort town in the Gulf of Thailand, just 150 km from Bangkok. Also branded ‘Sin City’.  The most misunderstood and unarguably overexploited city.

     

    Pattaya is one of the favourite first-time destinations for Indian male tourist. This is the place that introduces him to the things he never thought possible. Indeed a beautiful beach city with good-natured citizens and possibly a great family destination remains associated with walking street and trick shows.

     

    Every tourist destination has a war cry promoting the experience. It is associated with images, activities by which the destination gets branded. A tourist destination is nothing but the memories and experience visitors have or are sold. Pattaya, the sleepy fishing village, is a case in point. It was an R&R  (Rest and Recreation) centre for American soldiers. Much before the digital age, in a hurry to transform into a decent-sized town, Pattaya took-on more sins and pleasure points than it could wash or enjoy later. Now, the web is full of references to Pattaya with massage and walking street.

     

    Thailand tourist department and the local Pattaya administration have been investing in reinventing and rebranding Pattaya as a family tourist destination. They have obviously not been successful and have nothing much to show. Frankly, it is a huge task and may not be possible. It is unlike that like some of the European cities, Pattaya can easily weed out city employment and workforce focused around massage and nightlife. It is a tough to act against an illegal sex trade that is so openly operates.

     

    While Thailand moves from ‘Amazing Thailand’ and serves the 2015 theme  ’Discover Thainess’, tourist memories and expectations remain unchanged.  ‘Thainess’ sounds even raunchier to an Indian tourist.

     

    In the digital world, wiping out image impressions is a daunting task. More so to attempt rebrand a heavily visited, listed and reviewed place. An attempt to clean it and rewrite is a waste of time.  But, attempt to amplify currently undiscovered parts; events, and opportunities available in Pattaya in social media could be a good start. Make people feel those vibrations. Make the goodness appear higher in searches and the old dirt grime pushed deeper in the search pages.

     

    Beware of the perils of default branding in the digital age. ‘You brand yourself or the competition would’ was the old saying. ‘Proactively brand yourself or the consumer will’ is the new one. Once you allow it to happen, it becomes increasingly difficult, to be what you want to be.

     

    To the advertising and marketing community making their way to the Pattaya Adfest, I have few requests to make in this direction. Do attend the fest that’s what I presume that you are going for.  Go out and try Thailand’s fresh seafood being served across wide selection of restaurants. Explore and enjoy authentic French, Italian, German, Hungarian, Arabic and Japanese cuisine. Make a most of it.  Try out a trip to ‘Sanctuary of truth’, ‘Sukawadee house’ and ‘Mini Siam’ – names you may be hearing for the first time. Try some of the great adventure and tourist offering like Para Jump or Bungee Jump. In case you need any directions do connect with me. I am most likely to go for Scuba.  And most of all keep social media feed oriented toward the nicer part of Pattaya and Pattaya Adfest.

     

    Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance its interanal team’s potential and capabilities instead of depending on external resources. He is a Management, Marketing and Braand consultant and conducts specialised workshops in the area of IDEATION (Harvest and Liberate) and Innovation (InNoWait). To contact email sanjeev@intradia.in  or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in  www.sanjeevkotnala.com.

     

  • It is time that the newspaper industry gets a fresh media synergy-multiplication study done keeping digital and TV in mind, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Nine Things Helping Print

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Here is the good news for print that Sam Balsara presented at the recent Pitch Madison media projection.

     

    1. Print is the largest media with some 42% plus overall share.

    2. Difference between TV and Print has widened.

    3. The growth in digital has come at the cost of TV more than print.

    4. FMCG is the largest category in Print.

    5. Hindi press leads the Print segment

     

    Almost like a resurrection. And this cannot be attributed just to rising literacy or increased circulation. In an era when we were writing off print, it continues to hold fort.

     

    ENHANCED RESPONSE: The client is experiencing a revived wave of response from print. It is a result of newspaper brands consciously investing in enhancing reader engagement and interest. They know the business is safe till readers continue to read a lot more detailed, multiple point view, easy-to-refer news that is easily, archived and accessed. In other media like TV, news is transitory and it dies sooner than it is created.  Watching a news channel is like self-punishment and the intellectual debates more like comedy classes.

     

    STRICTER AD-EDIT BALANCE: Most newspapers have realised that in addition to the ad-edit ratio balance, what matters is the size and quality of the ads. It helps in creating an overall feel for the page. The bigger publications have woken up to the idea of insisting on space and number of ads on main pages. It is a definite plus for the business.

     

    HAPPY FRONT PAGES: Newspaper like Dainik Bhaskar have made a policy guideline to ensure that front page will carry positive news that brings a smile to your face. Not something totally under their control but many times even intent would make me happy. They know that it is their small contribution in making the day start with a smile.

     

    STOPPING AT HYPER-LOCAL: In its attempt to be truly localised newspapers had started going micro, in many ways affecting the quality of content. To go deep and micro with every possible news getting featured irrespective of its interest, value or impact. Somewhere sense prevailed and they defined boundaries of what will be hyper-local.

     

    NO PAID NEWS: Newspapers in non-metros have taken a stance against paid news – native news and sponsored news till it is not clearly flashed. The indifferent treatment in mostly digital election has helped strengthening of this stance. They are unwilling to have any ambiguity in interpretation by the readers.

     

    REINFORCING HABITS: Newspaper are making every attempt to keep the habit of reading alive. There is a huge pressure in circulation teams in non-metro markets.  The newspaper hits the door almost as a set alarm. Right on dot, everyday, 362 days a year.  It is very unlike metro, where newspaper brands feel they have done an obligation if they reach you as or even after you have left for work.

     

    FORMATS AND NAVIGATION: Newspapers have re-engineered formats and news navigation. It has enhanced the content layout and ease of flow. You are absolutely sure where you will get the specific news or feature.  The bigger newspapers like Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Lokmat, Eenadu have maintained the number and quality of pages irrespective of the newsprint prices.

     

    NO IRRELEVANT INNOVATIONS: I am happy to see no more of illogical unmanageable innovation in print. I am not against innovation. But I hate innovation for the sake of it. While innovations are award-winning creative marvel, they can be an irritant for the reader. Newspapers must guard against it. I know I will be laughed at. The counter-argument will tell me that the reader has adjusted to front jacket and not seeing the real front page. My advice is tread with caution and I will not take it for granted.

     

    ENHANCED CONFIDENCE: It is good to see Newspapers strengthening their posture in term of rate and yield. They are finally willing to sacrifice business for the right rate. It is a long battle that maybe too late in the day. I appreciate it and watch the situation with caution.  Currently it seems fine, the return/ response being generated by the print ads in non-metros is on an upward swing. It is helping newspaper brands to deliver ‘more for less’ and everyone is happy.

     

    It is time that the newspaper industry gets a fresh media synergy-multiplication study done keeping digital and TV in mind. Additionally it should seek fresh insights into changing news consumption pattern and keep the good work. Newspapers have been agile in the past in their response to changing trends. I just hope they continue to keep pace.

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance its interanal team’s potential and capabilities instead of depending on external resources. He is a management- marketing-media consultant and also conducts specialised workshops in the area of IDEATION (Harvest and Liberate) and Innovation (InNoWait). To contact email sanjeev@intradia.in  or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in  www.sanjeevkotnala.com.

     

  • Franchise owners are departments or teams within your organisation. Each with a fixed innovation and experiment budget pre- allocated. What they bid are the ideas, processes and projects up on the auction table

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Let’s Bid In The New IPL: The Idea Premier League

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    February 16 was an iconic day in the short history of IPL and an Idea called Yuvraj. A player discarded by the Indian selectors. A decision with polarised reactions. A decision much debated and challenged among his fans and distractors. Yuvraj is not some unknown entity. He is the temperamental idea that failed to find permanent home. He was the key to India’s 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup campaigns. He is a known gamechanger, a survivor. He still holds a promise of taking charge and coming to rescue when required.

     

    Surprisingly, Yuvraj was released by RCB who last year bought him for just Rs 4 crore, yet they earnestly bid for him way beyond the expected value. Finally, Gary Kirsten had a different understanding, value and faith in this idea and Yuvraj created history with a Rs 16 crore bid by Delhi Daredevils. A team broken bruised and re-established many times over just like the city it represents.

     

    The Idea called Yuvraj now moves to a team that is not looking its best on paper. Dependency and expectations from him will now rise to new levels. And he will have to re-prove his worth. In the same auction were other ideas like Sarfaraz Khan and KC Cariappa finding bidders in KKR and RCB.

     

    So, do you have a set of ideas that are constantly juggling in your mind? Ideas like Yuvraj, they always sound great but you have not been able to bring yourself to bet on them. Ideas like Sarfaraz you could unleash at some later stage and are willing to commit at this early stage. Cariappa, an Idea that you have already recognised as future, and you are willing to experiment.

     

    This led me to define a format at corporate level. I present skeleton of the new IDEA PREMIER LEAGUEâ„¢. I am available to further define and customise the process for a willing corporate connecting with it.

     

    In Idea Premier League you do not have the liberty of keeping a stable of 25-plus ideas incubating. You cannot leash 11 of them at a go. You do not lay a short T20 with competition. There is no policy constraint that may require at least three foreign ideas (not subscribed by you) to be whetted by research. The purse remains a constraint. The future brand value and long term ROI the only things that help you remain in the game. And you have to look at an instant and a long-term perspective at every bid.

     

    So, consider playing an Idea Premier League before the next financial year. Franchise owners are departments or teams within your organisation. Each with a fixed innovation and experiment budget pre- allocated. What they bid are the ideas, processes and projects up on the auction table.

     

    The year-end results in the new possible value placed on the Ideas by an internal expert evaluation team. They pick the winners who get the pre-defined trophy and the prize in cash or kind.

     

    In this process Idea Premier League department (the franchise owners) in the next season (financial year) would at will discard some existing playing Ideas to create the funds to bid for the ideas. Budget penalties are part R&R in IPL. It is no longer a mere game (even IPL is a business) hence the franchise owners will substantiate with reasons their decision to drop any playing IDEA. More so another team (like DD) may see it (YUVRAJ) differently and they may have the belief to go bid and make a game out of it.

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance its interanal team’s potential and capabilities instead of depending on external resources. He is a management- marketing-media consultant and also conducts specialised workshops in the area of IDEATION (Harvest and Liberate) and Innovation (InNoWait). To contact email sanjeev@intradia.in or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in www.sanjeevkotnala.com. The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • World Cup 2015 is unpredictable. Not for which team would win but for marketers, brands and the media, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: IPL is any day a better bet for brands!

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    The Indian Premier League or Cricket World Cup is a choice or problem for a few brands. You either have money to splurge on both tournaments or you don’t. Those who have money either have a campaign to run or they don’t. And brands with money and campaign, it is only the rate and ROI issue. ROI can never be guaranteed and remains a gamble. So, if you have the money and a campaign and need to advertise during these times you may want need to look at it differently.

     

    World Cup 2015 is unpredictable. Not for which team would win but for marketers, brands and the media. Success here depends on audience interest, viewership, viewer’s empathy and apathy towards the team. Oh yes, the die-hard will watch anything, but the deciders are the real consumers; the fringe audience that makes the numbers advertiser look at. Match timings are big spoiler for them. We can expect non-India matches to be completely blanketed. Unfortunately, such matches form a large percentage of the tournament. The main sponsor get these ineffective buys as a package helping them show lower ER.  Non-sponsor brands try avoiding them but are served as no-option as channel has to square off the investment.

     

    IF (a capital, bold IF) India plays well in the 1st final (India Vs. Pak) it could change the whole game. We as a nation are currently feeling low entering WC15 after a series of losses. Cricket is suffering from lack of empathy and viewers apathy.

     

    On these qualitative counts itself IPL outscores WC-15 with a high percentage of your real TG hooked on to every match.

     

    Srini or No-Srini, 12 or 8 teams, ball-tampering or fixed matches nothing changes the ground rule; IPL is a festival, a mela, a tamasha we all enjoy with a spicy tadka of regionalisation. IPL demands less of your time, give you much to discuss and is much more fun. It is realignment of interest, supports and stars. The audience loves this cut-throat high intensity not giving an inch of attitude. They smile, so can the channel and the advertisers. The patriotic feeling is understated or completely dead and that makes team losing a bit more manageable for the viewer.

     

    I firmly believe that even a low WC-15 performance by the Indian team will fail to dampen the IPL spirit. Good or near decent show will help IPL. In gambling terms, with IPL you hold the royal run. IPL is always a new beginning. With auctions, there is always a new team under every banner. It has a clearly differentiated taste and flavour.

     

    On the other hand, the hard focus on TV impact in these tournaments creates blinkers and brands end up underutilising or missing opportunities with other media. Radio and hoarding are good bets. In WC, by the time newspapers share the result of a match, the audience would be watching the next day’s match.  But if you want to add regionalised tadka in IPL making it exciting for your brand, go talk to your print guy and be pleasantly surprised with the ideas they have.

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance the potential of  internal teams instead of depending on external resources. He is a management- marketing-media consultant and also conducts specialised workshops in the area of ‘Harvesting and Liberating Ideas’ and Innovation.  To contact email netkot@yahoo.com or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in  www.sanjeevkotnala.com. The views expressed here are his own.

     

     

     

  • The Wagh Bakri TVC places the brand at a higher pedestal and the imagery is totally contemporary and relevant, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: A lot can happen over a cup of tea

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    I was introduced to ‘Wagh Bakri – Risho Ki Garmahat’, a four-minute film via a link from Manish Bhatt of Scarecrow Advertising. I liked the flavour of it. It was really warm. It made me see lot of parallel and believe that this is some work that I would want to share. This is a simple communication that touches your heart. It is how communication should be.

     

    I personally see ‘Wah Taj’ as an iconic communication that is beyond its use by date. The recent efforts to rejuvenate it are a waste.  It is just not relevant to current generation. ‘Jaago Re’ is a new and interesting take. Though it may not be considered functionally effective, as it does not speak of the normal triggers that drive tea buying decision like taste, aroma etc. Yet, it places the brand at a higher pedestal and the imagery is totally contemporary and relevant.

     

    It was heartening to realise that this was presented as an audio version (narration + song) during the pitch, answering the brief ‘Help Wagh Bakri, the third largest tea brand in India connect with young Indians in newer markets. Esp North’, and got converted into a long format film and TVC without a single word being changed. I see it as a perfect amplification of the brand thought ‘Hamesha Rishtey Banaye’. And for a change, I am seeing a pitch work finally seeing the screen.

     

    It is not an extraordinary film. At one level, it simply tells you what goes in to give you the taste and flavour you want. Additionally, it layers that with the warm relationship between husband and wife. That’s where it scores. I like that little touch of wife not looking into camera while she shares her directions to tea in kitchen. That emotional shake works as a visual device.

     

    I like the simplicity in communication and got chatting with Manish Bhatt and I could see where he was coming from. He said “The new TVC gives this central thought a contemporary dimension. Our research revealed that today relationships are suffering. The young India is ambitious; works round the clock and hence can’t give the much-needed time every relationship needs to sustain its warmth. In this, we saw a perfect statement for Wagh Bakri to connect with the new India.” And one would agree that they have done a good work with it.  The whole film is treated well and leaves you with a nice warm thought.

     

    I do not share Manish Bhatt and team’s confidence in banking on the digital format to connect with the mobile generation. Though his argument stands that when AIB 30-minute shows and 3-hour films can be watched on mobile, a good film/ music video will be watched too. In his defence of the long format film, he adds: “The beauty is that there are two components – one is the story, and the other is the song. While the song complements the story, it also works in isolation. It will help promote the TVC like a music video, and also create shorter edits. It will be amplified on radio too”. I do hope that he is proven correct.

     

    Sometime the passion and artistic elements overpower and we forget some minor points. I am not sure if that is like picking bones but what the hell. Ok, the pan being used for making tea is too new. I hate that freshly bought-for-the-shoot look in props. Milk is added after straining tea. That surely is not the way North Indians like their tea. Sugar in the cube format seems a mismatch. And I am not sure if tea in taken out from packs or from cans. It seemed they just bought the tea and the tea pan. This jarred  in an otherwise well-conceived and created TVC

     

    Yet, the overall feeling is what matters at the end. For Wagh Bakri, it is all positive. The best part is that the brand name remains with you unlike another tea TVC that works well as a story. So much so that the brand name is missed out.

     

  • Phase III auction and real listenership data may help the industry in non-metro centres, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: It’s now for Industry to leverage Phase-III auctions

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    The third round of auction in radio is being seen as gamechanger. I personally fail to understand this euphoria. My faith in radio as a medium is a bit shaken, I am not sure about the situation in metro markets but suspect that it may only be  slightly better.

     

    For, here is a media in the non-metros where advertising rates are hugely undervalued. The constant battle on music loyalty fee is yet to find its endnote. Cut-throat promotional deals and exclusivity with movies is not really an example of win-win situation. Listeners do not see a major differentiation among stations. Innovatively proposals from radio are asked as free value adds. The clients have no clue on which is the station he should advertise and associates with and they don’t care. They are willing to work with one that promises lower rates and has decent perception in the market. In this situation, radio brands fail the brand power test in their capability to attract premium.

     

    Many big radios brands are strategically eyeing the next round of auction. There is a definite excitement around it. Most radio stations have invested in internally training the talent that they showcase. This talent pool has been unsure about their long-term future. Auction is a breather for them; they are the experts now and may be looking for better returns…

     

    The energetic environment loaded with fun, passion and excitement has constantly been under financial pressure. Things are not the same and the experience is worsening with time. This auction may just be what the doctors prescribed for the industry…

     

    This financial pressure is primarily due to the low yield realisation for a perishable non-expandable rigid commodity: time. The stations have by now experimented and honed their cost-cutting measures and it will be foolish to expect major saving to help the bottom line.

     

    Lack of syndicated and/ or third party studies prevents the sales team in pegging their time and getting better returns. Like creative in other media, RJs and programming teams are also fronting helpless sales teams. Future for listenership data does seem bright; as that is something the industry needs in a hurry. Clients cannot be blamed for not trusting figures from internal researches. In many ways there is a kind of cat-and-mouse game in radio.

     

    There is huge ambiguity and disconnect about who is really listening. The few interactions I have had with consumers in Tier-II/ III markets have shaken my faith in radio as a medium. In Ahmedabad, Agra, Dehradun, Jabalpur, Nagpur, Indore Raipur, I have interacted with 15-20 consumers each mostly from SEC B/C. These been highly informal conversations.

     

    My probes got me stares which had ‘Which era are you living in’ written all over it. I want radio teams to tell me how wrong am I in believing what I heard.

    :: When I have TV to watch, why would I listen to radio?

    :: Yes, I do listen some times but only when I am in the kitchen

    :: Play music on my MP3 or mobile.

    :: When I want to listen, I use my phone and my music collection

    :: I do listen while driving but not regularly

    :: It does not matter which station – they all play the same song

    :: While travelling I link my smartphone to car system, use pen derives or auxiliary cords

     

    It is a small subset but collectively they start making sense. Music download (old and new) is the easiest thing to do and almost everyone has his or her own set of song compilations. They may not been on Internet but have songs on their mobile external storage. The cheapest headphones give you decent noise-free sound. The listener listens to song he likes when he wants.

     

    So, where, why and who is listening to radio in the Tier-II and III markets? The radio industry needs to help clear  these doubts.

     

    I tried countering these arguments with the RJ conversations, SMS and  Whatsapp messages that the stations receives; don’t they demonstrate the level of interaction, involvement and engagement with the medium? I was told to smell the salt. There exist a limited tribe of dedicated listeners, they will call and engage with RJ, answer questions, and use radio as a real stress buster. But is that really consumer your campaigns are searching for …

     

    I wish I know what is the profile and size of this real listener tribe.  Yes, the devices that can logically grab the signal and play the music for you has multiplied. My question remains if that really translated into a larger listener base? Till someone answers this question with research, my faith in the medium remains shaken.,,

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at Intradia and believes the best way forward for an organisation is to enhance the potential of  internal teams instead of depending on external resources. He is a management- marketing-media consultant and also conducts specialised workshops in the area of ‘Harvesting and Liberating Ideas’ and Innovation.  To contact email netkot@yahoo.com or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in  www.sanjeevkotnala.com. The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • TV programming in the last hours of 2014 was fighting to redefine mediocrity, rues Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Will New Year Eve programming on TV ever be exciting?

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    If you hear audiences crib and promise they will not be watching TV next year on Dec 31, you know they are lying. They have said it many times before and will say again, but on December 31, 2015, the magic screen at homes will be alive with dead programing.

     

    It’s a new problem that audiences face, just like a woman staring at her collection of dresses. No problem if there is no choice like in the DD era. No problem with excess good quality content as in the late 1990s. Now, there are enough programmes, but none that stands out, is really good and is something people wait to watch.

     

    We know that there is an increasing trend of citizens staying home to celebrate New Year with friends and family. It is true across the country.  The so-called festivity associated with the event and the parties is more of a rarity than the practice. And in this situation, more they stay inside higher the probability of watching TV. Normally it should be an opportunity for TV Channels. Sadly, the truth is a lot different. TV programming in the last hours of 2014 was fighting to redefine mediocrity.

     

    New Year Eve programming is a complex proposition. It is not easy one to design, execute and monetise. Footage of celebration fills news channels and that is invariably fireworks and few parties in open public arenas. Old programmes are re-edited and served by entertainment channels. Sadly, not having any options the audience just bears the pain, cribs and watches. Even DTH has failed to serve a dedicated programme that could be financially viable. Really rich and mega. Something that the viewer will pay and watch seems like a far-fetched idea.

     

    This surely is the recipe for disaster. A self-fulfilling cycle of unstated unfulfilled expectations. Channels fight to get the Khans. Khans fight to get the eyeballs. No one succeeds in engaging and exciting the audience. Good old DD continues to shell out dead programming, which satisfies few audiences with bland taste. There you know what will be served.

     

    In the case of private channels, the expectation build-up is as huge as the ultimate disappointment it serves. Colors bring something called World Talent Night, Star brings an awards show, Sony, an old function for the nth time, Zee does nothing different. Mug shots of celebrity audience, the freeze frames of Khans and Priyanka Chopra in her dancing avatar hop from one screen to another. Channel differentiation becomes irrelevant for the dejected audience and a tough nut to crack for the channel owners.

     

    It seems the industry has given up on this opportunity.  We may never see a time when TV will really fight its Idiot box branding. Before we crib more, let us acknowledge that there are reasons for channels for not attempting much.

     

    Most of the country and definitely in the HSM area, New Year Eve is an opportunity of collective viewing and celebration with family members. But a huge part of audience trapped within social norms is denied the right of celebration. Women must pack up early and get confined to the internal part of houses. Where what they are waiting for is another shout for water or snacks. Their entertainment is usually seeing their men getting slowly tricked into drunken state.

     

    For an average citizen, life is full of expectation and disappointments. December 31 is no different. With temperatures dipping in the north and central India, potential audience tend to sleep early. That leaves the metro in-home-celebration junkies. By 11pm they are in high spirits. Other than the momentarily orgasmic shouts of countdown it does not really matter when the year turns over a new number. And TV programmes have anyway lost its focus by 1030pm.

     

    The marketers know this reality more than media planners, programmers and the media critic. It is impossible currently to find a true sponsor of such programmes. The planners in their teams knowing and understanding the customer psyche advise against it. The aperture of audience to receive a new message is limited. The repeated exposure to build a desired frequency is not a good idea, for the audience this is more of an irritant. So, it makes no sense for the channels or the sponsor to invest in something that only consumers want without interruptions. And a programme that is presented as a value-add to the existing set of channel sponsors is never going to get desired funding.

     

    May be we need to create a differential property. Maybe a Rs 100 ticket lotto draw on TV with midnight ‘life changing win’ by a factor of million times. May be some really slick first=time programming or even the direct TV premiere of PK-II.  An Indo-Pak 20-20 match.  Or a dream UNI-PROGRAMME across channels. The same programme across channels. If during sports this can happen cross channels, it can be possible for New Year Eve too. There does exist possibility to do to midnight on  the 31st , what Mahabharata or Ramayana did for  Sunday 10am slot. Maybe it is too much to ask and dream for. Maybe there are ideas within channels but no passion and enthusiasm to run with it.

     

    So, if on December 31, 2014, you were at home glazy eyed looking at the insipid fare being belted out on your TV sets, think again before cribbing. Maybe you need to decide, next year you will have your own plan which will not depend upon channels entertaining you.
    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at INTRADIA and believes that the best way forward for an Organization is to enhance the potential of  internal teams instead of depending on external resources. He is a management- marketing-media consultant and also conducts specialised workshops in the area of ‘Harvesting and LiberatingIdeas’ and Innovation.  To contact email netkot@yahoo.com or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in  www.sanjeevkotnala.com. The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • Consumers today use retail stores to walk in, see, feel, talk, eat, smell and even compare the products. They then order it on the e-commerce site, notes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Redefining the Store – the Five Senses Brand Website

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    We are far from the time, when cash register in ‘brick and mortar’ stores will stop making that pleasing sound of counting cash. However, it would be dumb not to recognise the shift in consumer buying process that caught many marketers sleeping.

     

    Consumers today are using retail stores as a ‘Five Senses Product Website’ experience. They walk in, see, feel, talk, eat, smell and even compare the products. Then they order it on the e-commerce site.

     

    The new model is a simple WSW framework: Web-Store-Web

     

    STEP I: Go browse websites and shortlist choices

     

    STEP II: Visit the retail store. Have a complete Five Senses Experience of the products/ brands in consideration. Get further educated and informed n the product. Validate the choice and define a backup plan.

     

    STEP III: Log on to e-commerce site. Evaluate pricing options and order. Alternatively, wait for the sale to happen on the e-commerce platform.

     

    Once the consumer gets the selection right – like the shoe size, the colour choice, the seating comfort, the fitting, it’s natural for the future purchases to move to websites.

     

    E-commerce sites have graduated from being a ‘suspect’ to being a ‘confidante’ of consumers. Earlier consumers did not know, what to expect and were slow to warn up to e-commerce. This forced e-commerce sites to innovate. Timely early delivery, EMIs, Advance booking, Cash on delivery, 30-day return policy. Result: there is a newfound confidence. What has worked most is the positive experience of consumer. Surprisingly, manufacturer guarantee- warrantee- service was valid on products bought at these sites.

     

    This forces a rethink at the store level. We need to redefine the skillset and the role of the store staff. We need a new version of the store salesman with a thematic brand attitude and not the tactical push sales mindset. Who is not worried about the short-term gains, top line, commission or bonuses and is polite and sincere. Is willing to provide unobtrusive service and answer the most irritating consumers. Maybe we could then convert few possible e-commerce sales.

     

    Additionally, we need to tweak store policies and consumer interface modules. Fixed clear pricing with no space for negotiation could be a good start to mirror Internet experience. Prices near what is available on e-commerce platform would help but may-not always be possible.

     

    We need to help consumers to browse through options in a most transparent and independent way. Even provide relevant information on competitive brands. Invest time and energy in listening to the consumers. And at the right opportunity plug in our brand message. Just like the e-commerce platform, present to then the accessories and other items to consider along with their main purchase. Give an experience matching the mood and feel of a comfortable home environment. Make them feel at ease and pray that they buy at the store or at least click on our brand while loading their e-carts.

     

    Hence, we need to leverage intangible brand power a lot more. The need for a stronger vibrant relevant contemporary trusted brand becomes that more important. To avoid being commoditised in the e-commerce platform, the brand will we will have to be highly differentiated and innovative in their approach, in complete sync and touch with current and potential consumers.

     

    Half of this battle will be fought at the store level. One of the way to win would be treating them as ‘Five Senses Brand Website’ mirroring their newly acquired friend- the e-commerce platform.