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Tag: Sanjeev Kotnala

  • 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.

     

  • On Jan 28, 2014, an all-new readership survey was unveiled by the RSCI & MRUC. Given the controversy around it, Sanjeev Kotnala says media agencies now use their 6th sense for buying decisions

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Do we really miss the IRS?

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Media planning has spiritually come a long way. The sixth sense of media planner in Indian advertising industry is more powerful than that of the dog in Mahesh Bhatt camp. They are more accurate than the meteorological department in predicting tectonic shifts and minor tremors in media environment. The media weights are being reshaped by decisions taken using the black box with multiple-grid based complex tools.

     

    Advertising is an insight-mining business and is deeply research-oriented, yet we have adapted to the new reality. Other than TV where we hear rumours of fresh data emerging, we have nothing to go by in terms of print, radio (other than metros), outdoor and even digital. Almost all advertising investment for brands is based on the perception matrix, past trends, unilateral media studies and the internal pulls within these media planning groups. If at one place buyer is TV-centric, the other is torchbearer of digital agenda and the third been carries anti-print stance. They suggest, recommend, design and define every media intervention with these media skews. Let us have no illusion that forward buying, preferred media status and agency level incentives do not influence the sixth sense and in turn the media selection.

     

    Today is the anniversary of PRINT MUTINY of 2014. On January 28 last year, the all-new IRS was unveiled. The day when print brands started the revolt against IRS results. They were called many names including insensitive, inaccurate, polarised and highly biased. The brands substantiated their observations with examples that even the visually challenged could see. Since then a lot been said and undone. Yet, the only result we have is we have NO RESULT.

     

    Frankly, the users and the providers seem not in a hurry. Life has moved on. The users don’t give a #$@$ to what and when the new reader/ viewer/ listenership data would emerge and show them the right path.

     

    Scientifically, in 21 repetitions, the unconscious mind forms a new habit. Once it happens, it works on autopilot. Later on, it takes huge efforts to change. In absence of real data, a new habit of planning through sixth sense has taken over. International trending, small dipsticks masquerading as original research, dealer impression and perceptions are defining media selection and negotiations. This has taken the industry back by decades. There is no difference from the time when kitty party members of the boss’s wife could define serials for placing ads to today when the sixth sense is defining the media skews in a plan.

     

    Frustrated with repeated blocks and lack of data, proactive clients with large budgets have their own algorithms and internal feedback mechanism to detect media changes and fine-tune the media plans. They are all temporary and not an ideal solutions. In fact, it would have not only been interesting but also in interest of the industry IF ONLY the media practitioners (media agencies) and consumers  (clients) had forced the industry (and media owners) from living in this vacuum. Or maybe it works to their advantage.

     

    May be and I use MAY BE in all caps, it is time for large advertisers to force a solution demanding independent media research results. May be the government should help get an ordinance forcing media brands to compulsorily subscribe and participate in media studies. May be it ensures that the right to object to research findings is withdrawn. May be a 1% media cess is levied on all media investments creating funds for a tribunal solely engaged in media studies.

     

    I know this is an unfinished dream. Media organisations and their collective sixth sense will continue to rule for some more time. In the process we will further open doors to rampant corruption.

     

    ……………………………………………………………………

    Sanjeev Kotnala is Head Catalyst at INTRADIA and believes 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 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.

     

  • 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.

     

  • In our social framework, hair for a woman has a lot more meaning than just an accessory, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Is there a deeper consumer understanding in the new Dabur TVC?

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    It was sheer coincidence that I found this four-minute AV on the internet.  Soon I caught it in its mini version on Television Street. Not surprised that it did not make the viral cut of featuring in Facebook.  In ‘Brave and Beautiful’, Vatika took a step forward in making a statement. I am not privy to information if like Tata Tea it will be beyond marketing communication and if this is a step to join a social cause? Having worked on the brand in early 2000, I know how big a shift this is. I remembered the problem-solution scripts. I remembered most of the time spent referring to the secret VHS with reference shots of hair swirl.

     

    I was very poetically taken through a voyeuristic journey into the emotions and fears of a cancer survivor. I was told ‘some people don’t need hair to be beautiful’.  In that moment of pure emotion I more than believed them. I had a window seat into the quick process of her regaining confidence without her weapon, her hair. I admired her.

     

    The marketer in me admired the brand for its stance. The common man in me felt it could have stopped at the family recognition. Taking it to the office environment was too much of a giant leap. The reactions it took it to unreal platform. I am not alone in fearing that soon she will have all kali bindi and there, right there the flow got twisted robbing it of its beauty.

     

    Now, let us be honest. In our social framework, hair for a woman has a lot more meaning than just an accessory. We all know of such unspoken fear. In some way when women see bald women how ever confident and courageous, however supporting the surrounding be, the first reaction is of alarm. So, when a known hair brand like Dabur takes such a step, it get noticed and talked about.

     

    When the ad comes in, I have observed ladies unconsciously playing with their hair, reassuring themselves.  And that made my belief in Martin Lindstorm studies that more stronger. Leave smoking and be at peace with yourself, see a sign of smoking kills, Do not smoke and the urge violently jump’s up. So, a question raised its head, is this social cause a real fake. Have the decision-makers taken this call and this script after considering how it REALLY MAKES A WOMAN FEEL. And it worked brilliantly in this role.  Is there an understanding that rest of us are not privy to?

     

    The ‘BRAVE AD BEAUTIFUL’ in one stroke has uplifted the brand. The concept is not new. We all have seen such stop start gestures from brands. Very few brands could walk the line for long. It becomes tougher when the brand creates a polarity between the message ad the product inherent benefit. Hopefully Vatika is completely aware of this one-way street.  Consumers do not tolerates fakes. Out there in this new world, a set of prying disbelieving hawks constantly scrutinise brand deviation from this chosen stance.

     

    Or is this the case of top down directive where the mother brand is trying to find one key for its entire brand folio? A social cause walk. To portray brands and in that range the company brand a catalyst. It’s a tough role to create and tougher to maintain. Easier said then done.

     

    Like benefit of doubt to the batsman (NO DRS), I wait for the next move from VATIKA.

     

  • 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.

     

  • Resolutions take birth, fully aware of their short life. This destined death makes the process of creation a lot more interesting, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: So what’s your Resolution for 2015?

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    There is something really evil sinfully sexciting and orgasmic in slowly giving in to temptation and surrendering to an early break of otherwise a well-debated resolution. Yet, resolutions take birth, fully aware of their short life. This destined death makes the process of creation a lot more interesting.

     

    There are our independent individualistic favourite resolutions, one that we have broken many times. Not to get angry. Leave smoking. Drink moderately. Diet and many more. In process, we have been self-centred with a constrained small radius of individuality, not willing up to own the responsibilities that come with our other part of life. We have rarely looked at the weapon of resolution in our professional life. Trust me, it reality needs an injection of this mighty ritualistic process.

     

    Here is a shortlisting to get you going. Do pick a few. I am sure, you will find one that suits you. And, yes, the one that you will shamelessly break at the next opportunity. Maybe it will leave a mark on your professional value system before ejecting like a harmless comet.

     

    Go ahead. Check this list. Silly to real to profound ones, as said, resolutions come in all sizes.

     

    GENERAL

    :: I will no longer use social media just to crib and complain, but whenever there is an opportunity, I will also register my appreciation.

    :: When asked I will share my honest frank opinion and feedback and not what the boss wants to hear.

    :: I will take at least two vacations not counting seminars and office offsite

    :: I will not take credit for someone else’s ideas or work

    :: I will appreciate team in public and reprimand in private

    :: I will be an active member of at least one industry body or professional forum

    :: In a year, I will invest in at least one week of training/ upgradation to update my knowledge

    :: I will properly disclose my freelance income when filing taxes

    :: I will at least mentor one junior team member

    :: I will not crib on the quality of speakers in the events I attend, but I will engage them in healthy debate by raising relevant questions

    :: I will not attend industry events just to catch up with friends and have free booze

    :: I will not choose a flight based on loyalty points

    :: I will not submit food bills for liquor I consume in trips

    :: I will ensure that we arrange for women team members to be safely dropped home when they work late

     

    MARKETING BRAND

    :: I will call for pitches just for Idea Shopping

    :: If I do call for pitches, I will not invite the existing agency (I know their capabilities)

    :: I will not use pitch ideas unless I have paid for the same

    :: I will give proper brief with a very strong proposition

    :: I will always tell agencies the reason for rejecting a campaign and not just ‘Mazaa nahi aaya, kuch different nahin hai’

    :: I will give agencies a reasonable time to work on any creative

    :: I will share the real budget at the time of briefing

     

    AGENCIES

    :: I will not pitch without a pitch fee

    :: I will not lift ideas from under disguise of success transfer or localisation

    :: I will not enter scam ads for awards

    :: I will not freelance for a competing brand of my agency

    :: I will not accept a vague brief

    :: I will not accept ‘Mazaa nahi aaya, kuch different nahin hai’ from client

    :: I will always demand the reason for rejecting a campaign

    :: I will not write the script looking at my passport

    :: I will work a print campaign independently and not as an after thought from the TVC

    :: I will not tolerate below par language translation but seek trans-creation

     

    MEDIA

    :: I will not talk 360 and integrated till I have understood its meaning

    :: I will not disrespect and shout down other competing brands

    :: I will not engage in paid news and paid content without highlighting it

    :: I will not present a uni-dimensional analysis of media reports

    :: I will not bribe media planners to get included in campaigns

    :: I will neither create preferred media partners nor recommend a media unless needed by the campaign

    :: I will really treat client funds as my own

    :: My next plan will not be a cut-copy-paste of the last plan

    :: I will not sign a client for its name value if the retainer ship does not make business sense

     

    If you have any more suggestions, do share with me.

     

    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 Liberating Ideas’ and ‘Innovation’. To contact, email netkot@yahoo.com or tweet at s_kotnala visit www.intradia.in www.sanjeevkotnala.com

     

     

  • 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.

     

  • The communication and relationship that should be improving with time and technology is becoming frustrating and irritating

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Letter from a Paranoid Consumer to a Brand Manager: Trust broken, I read every word that you utter with fear

    Dear Brand Manager

     

    The year-end is near. The Third Quarter you call it and you are behind your targets. Nothing new. You are an experienced hand on this. You do have tricks up your sleeve to ensure you get your performance incentives. However, at what yield is debatable. You know you are losing your charm. You know there is something wrong with you. I thought it was my responsibility to point that out.

     

    So what has changed? Nothing and everything. The years when I used to decide my future based on features, benefits and what you say the dead USP seem to be over. Now it is just about money, honey. You treat me as some underprivileged person. You hurt my ego and capabilities shouting the cheapest rates or you try being premium teasing me and hurting me again. So, if you wish to be treated like a commodity, who am I to blame.

     

    Do not fault me at being nostalgic remembering the days when I wasthe sole focus of your life. You would get me to believe that is still true. However, I know otherwise. Those days were nice. I was wooed with differentiated messages sounding genuine and exciting. Ah, It will never be the same again!

     

    Now I live in fear. You stalk me everywhere. If I look out for anything with the click of my fingers, I am immediately bombarded with messages that may no longer be relevant to me. I hope you know you are a jerk! Hope you understand the word. Why do you chase me until I have no option but to block you? You know how irritated that makes me. It is a date spoiled by over intrusive friends.

     

    You do not know the meaning of privacy/ genuine option or the right to decide. Don’t you have mother- brother- sister- parents and friends as consumers and customers? Do other bullies like you not torture them? Do you fail to see their anguish? Have you been never chased by such suitors? Maybe you have a better shield of DND, status and exclusivity that a normal consumer like me fails to create.

     

    You and your types forget that I am not accountable to you. I do not need to tell you why your emotionally charged offers do not make sense to me. I trusted you and you trusted ‘Conditions Apply’. I trusted you and you failed me by ‘Upto 50%’ sales. I trusted you and you only had few items to offer me in sale. The one that I liked were the new arrivals. Do you really think that I still am enticed by ‘New, Revised with XYPTO’?!. Grow up those were days when I was blinded by the love of brands and they were sexciting. I used to have orgasm at 15% sale and discount. It no longer stimulates me. The yellow and red bands are all over announcing it. It disappoints me when the exclusive sale is available to my maid and me at the same time. You have mixed up your objectives.

     

    Trust broken, I read every word that you utter, not with awe and love but with fear. I fail to make sense of the long worded legal language document that you ask me to sign for our relationship. I feelI have no option. I am trapped. I know they are unilateral and loaded on your side. You were always that type. The only option for me is pray to God. I do that very time I sign them. May I never have the need to interpret them.

     

    Earlier when I took you home, I knew where you came form. Whom should I talk to, in case you fail to deliver in your promises? Someone stood guarantee for your behaviour. Now I live in mortal fear. There are too many links. The equation is fragmented. It is all over. I meet you somewhere. I am wooed at different places. I am stalked many times. Everytime I have to speak to you, I find robotic in-sensitive voice recordings or some dumb representative on the phone representing you. All they do is misguide me. The communication and relationship that should be improving with time and technology is becoming frustrating and irritating. It is you, who decided to create these barriers between us.

     

    So why complain when I use the social media to reach you and be heard.

     

    Can we revive this relationship? Maybe but I doubt. You have created the wall around yourself. You need to take the first step. You have lost my trust and you will have to work hard to win it back.

     

    Not yours anymore,

     

    Paranoid Consumer

     

  • Following the Uber incident, risking being called prudish and unprogressive, Sanjeev Kotnala shares what he asks every female acquaintance to follow

    Sanjeev Kotnala: LESSONS WASTED: You need to protect yourself

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Uber Rape is the name social media has given to the unfortunate event in Delhi. As expected, the verdict was out much before the culprit was apprehended. The discussions and debates as usual will continue for some time. The questions raised are important, but soon, we would get back to our routine. We will forget the lessons learnt until the next incident. Then once again the collective conscience will demonstrate another blip. We would believe we have done our part of the duty. We will demonstrate adaptability and flexibility by accepting the state we live in.

     

    Banning Uber and all app-based taxi services is a perfect example of kneejerk reaction from the powers-that-be. It had to show some action. I am surprised no one asked for the resignation of some minister. We will have to wait to see, how soon it be erased from the collective memory of the citizen, the government, the brands and the consumers?

     

    If one was to believe the government, then Uber and other app-based taxi services are unsafe ONLY in Delhi. ONLY Delhi police is at fault for providing an unfair character certificate. ONLY the car-owners in Delhi hiring such drivers are at fault. Life in the rest of the country goes on.

     

    The underpaid and overworked policemen along with the Uber management have taken the easy way out. Someone else is paying the price for it. They have flouted the processes designed to deliver on the ‘unsaid promise of Safety’. Uber must be prosecuted for this.

     

    Trust is one thing and allowing rampant process failure another. The consumer banks upon the brand that they trust to be diligent in their processes. However, loopholes exist and we remain culpable to repeated offence. Uber and the Delhi police or the car-owners are not the only one exploiting the system or taking the easy way out. Hence, what is needed is a system overhaul.

     

    Maybe it’s time that the police team that gave the wrong certificate, the car owner who was not diligent in seeking proper documentation be tried as accomplice/ abetting rape. So should we all, who do not respect law. We hardly find it necessary to get police verification for our household help (drivers included). We pride ourselves in bribing to get certificates. Yet, we find someone else doing so wrong!

     

    We repeatedly elect politicians known to be corrupt. Educated senior employees indulge in sexual exploitation with no fear. People known to the victim commit most rapes and sexual misconduct. Yet, what we do is accept and adapt.

     

    We live in a jungle raj. No one can deny that. The government has repeatedly demonstrated its impotence in controlling such acts. The laws are not stringent enough. The police-government-friends-families and all around are insensitive and just voyeuristic b*****ds. They speak politically correct language. They all remain immune because they believe it will never happen to them.

     

    Even if you disagree in current state of affairs, the onus of safe conduct for women and other people rests entirely on them as an individual and partially on us as part of the society that allows it to continuously torment us. Risking being called prudish and unprogressive, I share what I ask every female acquaintance to follow. These no way are foolproof. Following them is no guarantee of safety. These can act as a deterrent.

     

    1. This country is not safe. DO NOT take a cab or any public transport service alone at night.
    2. The males of this country cannot be trusted. DO NOT get outnumbered in male company in evening parties and events. Seek the safety in numbers.
    3. The people around you cannot be trusted. Enjoy life. Learn that enjoying does not necessarily mean drinking. DO NOT drink more than you can handle.
    4. ALWAYS get a male to drop you. If there is no male, then leave in company of other female friends.
    5. Use the technology; ALWAYS share the CAB NUMBER PLATE and the MUG SHOT of the driver on WHATSAPP before starting the journey.
    6. During the journey, ALWAYS remain in touch with someone trustworthy. Talk to them. Repeat the CAB INFORMATION.
    7. Do not hesitate. ALWAYS carry the SPRAY. Hold it in your hand, so that you do not have to search for it in case the need arises. Use if at slightest provocation. This country can leave with coughing irritated males.
    8. Know your city. Know your routes. Know the people you are with. NEVER ask/ seek help from unknown people.
    9. NEVER get out of the crowded part of the city.
    10. ALWAYS keep the windows of the hired vehicle open.
    11. If you are driving by yourself, NEVER stop until you reach your destination.
    12. People will take care of themselves. DO NOT stop to help anyone if you are driving alone.
    13. Do take a course on self-defence.

     

    Meanwhile pray that no such incidents happen. It seems only God can save women in this country.

     

     

     

  • I am tired of listening to your mechanised bitch of a secretary: the IVR system. She has been working too much with your CRM but is no good… Do you think I give a F***, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Letter from a Consumer to a Marketer: I am Promiscuous because you are a Flirt

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Dear Marketer,

    We have seen a lot many good days but it is becoming intolerable. You keep on playing tricks that no longer amuse, engage or involve me. The pressure of one-dimensional unilateral expectations you have is chocking me. In our society of MAC: Market, advertisers and communicators, the relationship between you, the marketer/ Brand and I the consumer/ customer has been evolving dynamically. Some say it has been deteriorating with time. How you look at depends what your stance is.

     

    I enjoyed the attention that you showered in past. That was the time you were curious. There was no cloud over your child-like innocence and passion. You were your own without Big Data guiding you. There was some magic.

     

    Now, I am surprised when you sit down and think about me, you forget your own experiences. You no longer see things rom my point of view.  Under pressure from Revenue, your devilish mind continuously tries to think of strategies, the next upgraded with newly revised lure to the consumer. For that you tend to intrude into my privacy. And the rouge you are, you do that under disguise of selective permission and notification from my side. Remember going for a movie and sitting on the corner seat is no invitation to things that are in your mind.

     

    I am wary of you. Many times, you have put me in awkward situations. You have lost the respect I had. You do not have a new trick/ thought/ emotion to interest me. Like an amateur magician, your tricks no longer amuse me. I am selective when I think of my future and it shows in our strained relationship.

     

    I am neither a moron nor your wife, what if Uncle Ogilvy thought so. You never wanted me as a girlfriend but always wanted me to commit and be your wife. Should the same rules not apply to you? Why should marketers have all the fun?

     

    Earlier, you showered me with lovely presents. Loyalty points, home delivery, extended warranty, CRM, Customer service enhancement, free upgrades and much more. As usual, you were late. The question of loyalty was dead and buried. I want the same freedom you enjoy as a brand owner. Why do you think that the brand belongs to you only!

     

    Today in the Supreme Court of an informed marketplace, the brand wants to side with me, it wants me to cuddle, shape and show him the future.  How does it feel when you no longer control the thing most dear to you?

     

    You have forgotten your own rules ‘nothing can be taken for granted’. I am not only promiscuous but I like this feeling of being empowered by my new powers and I do not hide them.

     

    Do you think there is any place for Loyalty in in our world of ‘free open marriage’ that thrilled you? It took you so long to understand my ploybrandous behaviour. The earlier you understand it, the better it would be for you. It is you, who repeatedly broke our unwritten code of engagement. Yet, you seek the mirage called loyalty from me.

     

    I am tired of calling you and listening to your mechanised bitch of a secretary: the IVR system. She has been working too much with your CRM but is no good. All she knows is numeric options and a mechanised brutal tone: ‘your call is important to us, please be on line…. Brand jingle… repeat.’ or ‘sorry we have not received a valid input’.  Do you think I give a F***.

     

    I always gave you another chance but you refused to learn. When I asked a simple question ‘is my data /details/ identity safe with you’ all I get is ‘your reference number 435673896 has been recorded and been forwarded to the concerned department. Someone will shortly revert to you in next 48 hours’. You know, it does not amuse me any longer. Come on, you take more time to come than even the old telephone ever did. This public forum stops me from using the language I would want to. You introduced and educated me about engagement and involvement.  Open society and social media. With friends like them, it is natural for you to forget that engagement happens in a running alive relationship.

     

    Now, do not beg me for another chance. I want to see a change in you.

     

    Bye, until you earn the lost trust

     

    I will be sharing more as I realized that ‘KISS AND TELL SELLS’

     

    No longer only yours,

     

    Consumer

     

    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

     

  • Or should we happy that she was shown to have gone to Lonavala and not Khandala of 'Aati kya Khandala' fame?

    Sanjeev Kotnala: Will the average Indian dad be cool with his daughter taking off to Lonavala without intimating?

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    It was late evening. The TV was on and I was using the ad breaks to make some calls, when out of the blue, my daughter asked me a simple question.

     

    Papa what would you have done?

    When?… I had no context to the subject.

    If I told you, I am going to my friend’s house for overnight study. Then, late at night, called to tell you that I was in Lonavala with friends.

    Preetica, what is this? I know, beta, you will never do that… (A doubt crept in) will you… but why would you do that … I was now getting worried not knowing where it was leading

    No, think if I really did.

     

    Ok… Parenting instinct kicked in… I would ask you to hold where you were… take the address… comes over to pick you… However, I know you would never do this. Right? (There was a father seeking confirmation)

     

    What if, I said I was feeling guilty having lied and hence was calling you to inform.

     

    I do not think there would be a change in my reaction. If you have to do something behind my back without informing me, then there is no trust. Or, say, the trust is broken. And it would not be the right thing, otherwise why would you do that. Not to encourage you, (Tolerate would have been wrong word) I would come and pick you up.

     

    Papa, I love you.

     

    Suddenly the Kinley TVC came on. I saw the interaction between an ultra cool unworried father and daughter. I realised what made my daughter pose that question. The communication was not right.

     

    My wife joined the discussion and this time I head another take. Do you advertising guys (I am still seen as one) truly believe that a father in current times would be ok and tell her go to sleep. WHAT KIND OF A DAD IS HE? I just hope you do not react like this. Trust is one thing and this is rather a serious breach of trust. It cannot be overlooked. And because you have 20-30 seconds, there is no check – where are you, who are the friends, do we know them, can I have alternate number, when would you be back, don’t do this again! Now, do not give me the argument that not everything can be shown. Consumers need to complete it in their head. And did Manmohan Desai show Jai and Viru reloading their revolvers every tine?

     

    I then talked to as many people I could and realised that they find the situation and the talk dumb. As dumb as ‘Sachaai Har Boond Mein’.

     

    My wife was not finished with the subject and in the morning she fired another salvo. What is the kind of an industry you work in, it raises a debate when boss (wife) lovingly cooks for her husband but is silent when a daughter lies to her father. Or all such things are well-timed PR for the industry. Good, now people hardly believe and they laugh or switch off (mentally) during the break.

     

    I did not tell her this was by O&M and what Piyush Pandey had to say for it. May be  ‘Paani  ki har boond mein sachaai’ in sometime will be as strong as ‘Fevicol matlab mazboot jod’. I personally doubt it.

     

    May be (that is all there to say) the TG which consumes mineral water has a differentially moral values and culturally so open that such behaviour is common and justified. May be their dads are not a worried lot. May be they expect that sometime daughters lie. To them her calling and letting him know is a victory. It is not important that the daughter had not only lied and gone out of town. OVERNIGHT. The representation did imply that dad was not calling from Khandala but from a nearby town like Mumbai. No question, no creasing of forehead. Absolutely calm. Totally in control. A dad that definitely does not represent Bharat.

     

    I read Piyush defending ‘It was all about picking instances from real life with two possibilities. Avoiding unpleasant by lying or taking the courageous path of being honest and facing the situation. And honesty brings an inner strength to face the results’. No issue with this thought, it is a strong one and that helps the brand move a bit more positively forward with the theme, but the situation sucks.

     

    People from UnMetro that I spoke had a simple reaction. Sautela Baap hoga. Kaisa baap hai kuch bhi tension nahi.. Beti ne toh bhata diya. Boli neend nahi aa rahi thi. Aab woh soyegi aur yeh jagega poori raat. (Must be her step-father. What kind of a dad is he? No tension? Now that she has told him, she will sleep and he will be awake the whole night).

     

    My friend’s grandmother with her wrinkled toothless smile had the best take. Hota hai beta, is umar mein hota hai. Aab kya mohalla uthayega. Prathana kar theek-thak wapas aa jaye chhori. Ghar aayegi tab dekhlenge phir kaisey khabhi pair rakhti hai baahar. (These things happen in this age. Now will you wake up the mohalla. Just pray she comes back safe. And then we will she how she steps out of the house ever.) I completely understand her point of view.

     

    Then someone said she has gone to Lonavala not Khandala that the dad should be worried. I think this is the only place where Piyush and team is right, picking the right reference avoiding ‘Aati kya kandala’ links.

     

    ……………………………………………………………………………………..

    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

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala’s ‘KOTMARTIAL’ appears on Wednesday. It couldn’t be carried yesterday due to a tech hitch.