MxMIndia

Tag: The Anchor

  • Savvier than ever, Indian consumers now spend even more time researching products, and prefer quality for every purchase

    The Anchor: 5 things to consider when catering to the India market

    By Sajjan Kumar

     

    As India races towards its manifest destiny of becoming a developed nation, its growth paradigm continues to rise. India is witnessing great social, political and cultural changes and has become one of the fastest growing economies. The sheer size of the India market is the primal cause of the complexity a marketer has to consider before they decide to bring their business here. India market consists of more than a billion people who differ from each other in terms of language spoken, religion followed, and personal beliefs. This diversity is also reflected in the buying decision.

     

    Indian consumers prefer quality for every purchase. They consider the best product available, quality and price offerings collectively before making any purchase decision. Recent study by Nielsen states that Indian consumers are now more informed about the product they want to buy. They invest significant amounts of time and energy in doing primary research for their purchase decision.

     

    1. Consumers are now aware of the offerings in the international market and are willing to spend for the same.

    2. Consumers are selective in their choices. They conduct a careful assessment of all their options and go for best option available. They don’t compromise on a better product or service but actively hunt and look for the best deals, or will restrict consumption to buy the better offer.

    3. Across categories, consumption is not limited to the metro cities. With increasing incomes and awareness levels, the needs and consumption patterns in Tier 2 and 3 cities are rapidly converging with those of the larger, more affluent towns.

    4. Consumers don’t just jump at the more expensive offer; they hunt for greater value, look for distinct differences and make careful choices.

    5. The disposable income of consumers differs largely with different geographical areas. The vast expanse of regions and great differences in culture and social systems will always formulate different consumer psychologies.

    These reasons will always create various clusters of consumers divided geographically and with their social systems, thus keeping India a complex marketplace even in the near future. But, we can say that this complex market provides great opportunities for brands to grow. Due to different requirements brands should focus on providing quality products available at different price points and specifications, catering to every customer need. It is achievable for brands to become a box of ability catering to each and every consumer need and thus growing.

     

    Sajjan Kumar is VP, Imaging, Nikon India

     

  • Navneet Anand lists five not-so-talked about ways in which PR agencies can deploy social media tools for their clients

    The Anchor: 5 ways PR agencies can employ social media for clients

    By Navneet Anand

     

    Technology has continuously added to the comforts of the communicators. Migrating from old-style bulky phones to fax and then to emails and finally to the two-way social media tools, as professionals we have watched with glee the many comforts that technology has bestowed upon us with the passage of time. Technology has made us more efficient and this is especially true of those who in the business of communications.

     

    Public Relations agencies today can use social media for a variety of purposes – ranging from simple dissemination of information, to crisis mitigation, stakeholders engagements and creating platform for dialogues and so on.

     

    I list below five not-so-talked about ways in which PR can deploy social media tools for their clients.

     

    Go Beneath the Dust Cover: Often advertising, and even regular PR activities, capture and depict only some aspect of an organiation – akin to the dust cover of a book. So you tend to highlight the mission and the vision, or a new product, a new initiative, the financial results and so on as per the needs of communication, which is defined by the top management of an organisation. The consumer or stakeholder gets to see very small part of the corporate personality – You can surely make a first impression from the cover of a book, but to know the real worth you have to get onto the pages inside. Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and Blogs can help us get inside the book – meaning they can help disseminate many aspects of organisations which conventional communication may not capture.

     

    Converse Closely:  Social media tools have opened numerous windows for conversations. They have expanded the scope of communication – not too long ago organisations had to depend on tools like surveys to gauge the mood of their consumers / stakeholders. Some such tools, while still in use, have their limitations especially in understanding the softer side of human personality – their predilections, association, anguish and anxieties. For those who are willing to get close and personal with their consumers and stakeholders, social media surely provides a way out and this is a great opportunity for PR agencies.

     

    Advocacy – Find a Voice, Create a Noise: Social media is very effective, if used judiciously, for articulating serious issues and generating dialogues around it. Our client ABLE – AG or Association of Biotech Led Enterprises-Agriculture Group, which is an industry body representing agri biotech seed companies including giants like Bayer, Syngenta, DuPont and Monsanto, is grappling with a misinformation campaign unleashed by those opposed to GM crops in the country. Fact is the myths being perpetuated around safety of GM crops is nothing more than a bunch of distortions and lies. Along with our regular advocacy campaigns including reaching out to policy-makers, we work closely on Blog and Twitter to dismiss fallacious claims and submit science and evidence-based facts in public domain. We collate large number of academic papers and write-ups in media and put these on a blog and share with journalists, scientists, academic and policy makers.

     

    Be a Resource Hub: Social media is also a great tool to enable journalists and other stakeholders understand the many issues that your client may want them to know, understand and follow. As part of our advocacy campaign we have created a page on the Facebook and an account on YouTube where we capture / upload the many updates, beneficiaries’ testimonials and global studies on the same. We also use social media for facilitating updates on issues which are of constant interests to journalists.

     

    Read Faces on Facebook, Map Journalists: Often social media can serve as critical tools to map journalists and gauge their preferences and orientation. Many clients today have specific needs in terms of media visibility – which may require a non-conventional approach to media engagements. Non-conventional means looking beyond only the beat reporters for a particular sector.

     

    Navneet Anand is Secretary of Delhi Chapter of Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) and  founder of GreyMatters Communications & Advisory.

     

  • A N Chorrea on 5 international soaps Indian general entertainment channels and look at acquiring and adapting

    The Anchor: After acquiring ’24’, 5 international soaps Indian GECs must adapt

    By A N Chorrea

     

    Okay, so Colors and Anil Kapoor are bringing us the mega-serial ’24’. Here’s a list of other serials that we think should be adapted for Indian conditions:

     

    Big Bang Theory:

    It’s geeky, there’s some physics thrown in, but, heck, it’s funny. Very. Question is who will play the role of John Parsons as Sheldon Cooper.

     

    Castle:

    We like our ACP Pradyuman and CID and we’ve had our Karamchand, but nothing to beat a comedy drama like Castle. Question is who will play Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion)… someone like Navin Nischol of the new age?

     

    Grey’s Anatomy:

    Okay, it’s not that we’ve not a soap based in a hospital (remember Sanjeevani in the good ol’ days?), but surely we could do a classic on docs, nurses, patients and interns.

     

    Glee:

    This one is the easiest to replicate, methinks. The musical comedy-and-much-melodrama series can be much fun in a song-and-dance crazy nation. And replicated in not just Hindi, but various Indian languages!

     

    Friends:

    Okay, okay, this is not really a ‘current’ television series and we’ve tried doing similar things in the past, but possibly the time is right now to have an easy sitcom like Friends… how about tracking the life and loves of  six friends in Bandra. What men?

     

    AN Chorrea is a senior industryperson writing under a pseudonym

     

  • PR is coming into its own in India, and as the industry evolves, PR practitioners are faced with a number of issues. Vivek Rana takes a look

    The Anchor: 5 challenges that PR in India still grapples with

    By Vivek Rana

     

    PR is coming into its own in India, with more and more companies recognizing that strategic communication can help build brand equity and support a company’s marketing goals more effectively than other disciplines. As the industry evolves, and principles of human behavioral change become core to spirit of communication, there are a number of dilemmas its members have to ponder over, to move the needle forward. Here are a few of these challenges:

     

    #1 Identifying the target market: When they are up against the wire, many PR professionals reach for a generic set of tactics that ignore target market demographics or preferences. Since success depends on correctly defining the audience, practitioners must have a firm handle on this aspect before they roll out a PR campaign or initiative. Studying customer profiles, consumption patterns, market research reports or other relevant data will help in this direction. Relevancy of stakeholders is key to a successful program.

     

    #2 Looking beyond print: The Indian PR industry continues to be fixated with print coverage with results often measured in column centimeters or some variant of this. In today’s world, people get their news from many different sources, spanning traditional and new media. So, PR professionals must encourage both themselves and their clients to invest to measurements tools that look at direct impact on behavior. After all Public Relations is not just media relations. This approach will also help identify the most relevant channels that resonate best with the target audience.

     

    #3 Do not compromise on creativity for ‘paid editorial’: We have heard enough on the debate around paid editorial v. earned editorial. While this trend becomes an increasingly mainstream practice, the concerning factor is that many PR professionals are willing to compromise on being creative, on walking that extra mile, because yes its easy to pay and get written about! And when you have a willing client, voila! To be sustainable and maintain credibility innovation and good ideas will continue to hold you valuable and in business.

     

    #4 Ethics and Integrity: The challenge today is not that we do not communicate enough; we just do not communicate in a manner that displays integrity and ethics. Everyone seems to be in the race to “kill stories”, influence the media through relationships and not by providing accurate, unambiguous messages.  Often I meet candidates at an interview to gloat about how they are skilled to “STOP PRESS” and I start wondering what drug is he on! Respect the intelligence of the media, and partner with them to ensure they have access to clear and genuine information.

     

    #5 A need to raise the bar: Mediocrity can crop up in many forms in the PR industry’s output: a poorly written press release, an uninspired campaign, a campaign strategy that is not based on research, a lack of attention to detail… the list goes on. On the flip side, when substandard quality is accepted and condoned by clients, it gives PR professionals little reason to up their game.

     

    The good news is that these are problems that are now acknowledged by many in the industry.

     

    Let’s not remain armchair reformists. Let’s lead the change.

     

    Vivek Rana is Principal at The PRactice

     

  • When it comes to reaching customers, keeping costs down and getting specific, constructive feedback, direct selling has the advantage, says Manisha Amol

    The Anchor: 5 reasons direct marketing scores over other forms

    By Manisha Amol

     

    There are many benefits of direct marketing – to both buyers and sellers.

     

    #1 Direct marketing empowers women. Direct selling offers self-employment opportunities to a large number of people, especially women. The direct selling industry is not only offering an alternative employment opportunity but has also contributed in terms of increased incomes for those who have entered the industry as direct sellers. Financial independence, development of personal and business skills, flexible timings and an improved ability to take care of families are other benefits of direct selling. It has enabled women to be financially independent and increased their ability to save. Direct selling also provided a safety net during the global slowdown as a large number of direct sellers joined this sector during that time.

     

    #2 Direct marketing offers products with differentiated USPs, customized according to the direct feedback received from consultants and their customers. These products are manufactured through best contract manufacturers across the world and are offered with a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, as in direct marketing your buyers are loyalists hence the quality can never be in question. Example: The Wellness category today has rapidly grown, majorly through direct selling, and there are various products customized and targeted at different age groups.

     

    #3 Customers enjoy the convenience of direct marketing as they do not have to battle traffic, find a parking space, or shop through stores. Often they can simply order from a catalogue using the telephone or while shopping online, and never even have to leave their home as goods are shipped directly to their doors.

     

    #4 Buying through direct marketing channels is also private and easy and does not have to involve a face-to-face interaction with a salesperson.

     

    #5 Direct marketing reduces cost (minimizes overhead of retail space, utilities, etc) while increasing the speed and efficiency of the operation.

     

    In short, direct marketing allows sellers to customize offerings and create ongoing relationships directly with customers.

     

    Manisha Amol is VP – Marketing, Modicare Ltd

     

  • The best way to get lunch without doing battle for it, how to find good seats (and keep them), and what not to waste time on. Conferencing tips from Rahul Kishore

    The Anchor: How to make industry conferences work (better) for you

    By Rahul Kishore

     

    Having just attended a large conference organized by a leading media organization, I have a few pointers that you might benefit from:

     

    #1 Do not go there looking for knowledge. Most speakers are dull, and love to hear their own voices. The really good ones are expensive and most event organizers cannot afford them. So they make do with whatever is available.

     

    #2 Do not expect to engage with the speaker. Most have tie-ups with TV channels and the channelwallahs inflict their anchors on you. These anchors are ill-prepared mostly and forget their own questions. They also encourage their friends in the audience to ask questions.

     

    #3 If it is a one-on-one then the guest is extremely circumspect and cannot hold you for an hour or so. The moderator also uses this to become friends with the guest, whom he would not have otherwise met! If he has met the guest before then they try to make it like we are best friends etc and that works for no one!

     

    #4 Make sure you reach early and grab a good seat post registration. There are sponsor reserved tables but they never work as the ushers are clueless. I have seen CEOs after pumping in over a crore, looking for a decent seat.

     

    #5 A word about the popular speakers. These are ONLY Bollywood…anyone from a Katrina to a Sonakshi works for our celeb-starved public. So you have to be in your seats at least one if not two sessions before the Bollywood session. DO NOT GO ANYWHERE! It is best, trust me!

     

    #6 Lunch is normally better than average as hotels who do a barter like to showcase their kitchen. So, like me, hit the lunch hall at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled lunch time. Large screens are beaming the event live anyway and as soon as lunch is requested, you are there. The queues are awful and all decorum and decency is forgotten when the food-starved public comes gushing. It is easier now to look for seconds since you have had your first shot berfore everyone else. People will let you break the line if you have a soiled plate in your hand.

     

    #7 A few years ago it used to be a great place to network. Not any more. Audiences are random and arbit. A few page-3 types, assorted goras, and some retired bureaucrats are all a part. The marketer is mostly missing. Women are more active as they want to go back and tell their friends they attended an extremely high-brow event! Be prepared for loads of Aunties in their Guccis, LVs, Jimmy Choos. Also loads of jewellery… good on the untrained eye! Happy Conferencing!

     

    Rahul Kishore is senior vice-president, priority projects, Mogae Media. The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • It's not a tussle that is likely to be resolved soon – but Dipankar Zalpuri rolls up his sleeves in the PR corner

    The Anchor: 5 reasons PR is better than advertising

    By Dipankar Zalpuri

     

    Let me start by quoting George Bernard Shaw who once said, “The problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” That makes it even more important to understand why and how PR/Media Relations is better than Advertising:

     

    #1 Fish Tank Syndrome. When creating a PR pitch, a professional (internal or external to organization) will always do a dip-stick study and gain valuable feedback from prodding the press members. Also, as the story development goes along, media adds value to the brand proposition, if communication is clear and crisp. Advertising usually restricts to highlighting the important aspects of the product/service and thus sounds very promotional. A creative agency and the client usually generate these ideas thus leading to a closed fish tank syndrome

     

    #2 PR is increasingly being seen as being more empathetic to customer need. Consumers know when they’re reading an advertisement they’re trying to be sold a product/service. Consumers/Customers are wise. When someone reads a third-party article written about a product or views coverage of an event on TV, they’re seeing something a client didn’t pay for with ad rupees and thus view it differently than they do paid advertising.

     

    #3 It’s all about the money, honey. Considering the ever looming fear of economic recession, one of the most important points obviously is the cost involved. Where an effective multi-media advertising campaign will cost millions of rupees, PR is a much wiser and in-expensive option.

     

    #4 Longevity & Shelf Life. So if you are paying so much for space, you can run your ads over and over for only as long as your budget allows and in places which fall in your overall budget. Whereas with one press release you can target all publications through PR & Media relations

     

    #5 Advertising helps to maintain a brand, not build it. It helps in the long run. Last but not the least, good PR is a carefully planned, sustained effort to establish your company identity, maintain credibility and promote communications between your company and its public. The public can be cynical. They have lots of advertising messages directed to them on a daily basis. But, when people read media articles, hear or see something about your company in the press, it results in much better credibility and thus is much better for the long run!

     

    Dipankar Zalpuri is Director, YouMe&We Media Services Pvt Ltd

     

  • Whether consumers are just Windows-shopping, or on a serious buying spree – there are heaps of sites out there. How do e-tailers differentiate themselves? Richa Kar has some hints

    The Anchor: 5 ways e-shopping portals can differentiate from hordes of others

    By Richa Kar

     

    #1 Marketing

    How does a portal market itself and build the brand over a longer period of time? Why should a customer keep coming back and shop with you instead of going to a competitor website? Marketing will drive the association of brand with consumers.

     

    #2 Technology

    This plays a big role in enhancing user experience on site. As a portal increases the categories that it retails, it becomes that much more difficult and time-consuming for a customer to find what they need. An e-tailer needs to leverage technology to make product discovery much easier and faster by way of tagging, search, filter etc.

     

    #3 Re-looking at content strategy

    In an industry where you have multiple players selling the same categories, brands, styles etc., the only way an e-tailer can differentiate themselves is content. Content can be on site, product lead, off site, social media. This also involves looking at merchandising very differently.

     

    #4 Execution

    Execution plays a very important role. Customers buy from online portals without having a real-time experience of the products and repost faith in the portal to deliver high-quality products, on time and in great condition. We at zivame ensure that we execute the order well and live up to the customers’ expectations.

     

    #5 Value Proposition

    Our value proposition is making the customer feel comfortable buying lingerie. Buying lingerie offline can sometimes be awkward. We also ensure that our packaging is done in really neat-looking boxes with no provocative pictures on them. Sticking to the core value proposition is of utmost importance.

     

    Richa Kar is CEO of Zivame.com

     

  • Windows 8 is here, and Manish Chopra has a rough guide to being a smooth app-erator

    The Anchor: 5 things to watch out for while launching an app on Windows 8

    By Manish Chopra, CEO of Zovi

     

    #1 Supporting multiple modes of interaction – Desktop machines using mouse/keyboard interactions + tablets using touch/swipe interactions.

     

    #2 Supporting multiple screen resolutions and orientations – (Orientations to be supported: Snapped mode, Landscape mode, Portrait mode).

     

    #3 Providing a customized and special experience for the app user – Not trying to mimic your website, but try and provide an experience that is better suited for the tablet audience.

     

    #4 Cutting down on features and streamlining the workflow – Try to cut down the features to a bare minimum. Keep in mind that the app is supposed to be used by people on the go and so we should not overwhelm them with a multitude of features. Prioritize and decide on what few thing your app should let the user accomplish and execute on them well. Try to re-imagine the workflow in the app so that the user need not go through multiple screens and/or commands to accomplish simple tasks.

     

    #5 Follow the Windows 8 app best practices and guidelines – Apps that don’t follow the guidelines are not usually accepted in the app store. Following the guidelines also helps in providing a predictable experience for the user.

     

    Manish Chopra is CEO of Zovi

     

  • Looking to the future and thinking ahead of the curve are key to monetizing your mobile platform, says Mark Challinor.

    The Anchor: 5 ways of making money from the mobile platform

    By Mark Challinor

     

    #1 Work out where your readers are going to be in the future. The eyeballs should decide where the advertisers go. Monetize the space accordingly.

     

    #2 Think of advertisers and readers jointly. The content that they value will help develop content accordingly on various platforms whether it is mobile or tablet.

     

    #3 Look at all the new technologies that are coming in, such as augmented reality, QR codes, mobile payments. Get the right blend of technologies to work with the audiences.

     

    #4 Bundle all the digital subscriptions to drive home more revenues, and give more opportunities to the advertisers.

     

    #5 Experiment and research to work out the digital model according to the market you operate in. Only trial-and-error can help you decide on the right model.

     

    Mark Challinor is Director of Mobile Platforms, Telegraph Media Group, London

     

  • As if our cup of digitization woes wasn't already running over, now it'll overflow even more, writes A N Chorrea.

    The Anchor: 5 problems that you and I will face thanks to digitization

    By A N Chorrea

     

    #1 You need a fresh table for the set-top box:

     

    So you thought the fancy 165-cm Sony Bravia would look fantastic on the bare wall of your living room. Now, where you are going to keep the set-top box? Pain, huh?

     

    #2 Other paraphernalia for the box:

     

    Like a sexy little cover for the box so that dust doesn’t settle on it when not in use. Buy an all-in-one remote and if necessary get an additional remote laminated. Build an electricity point for the set-top box.

     

    #3 Keep tabs on packages:

     

    Until now it was the cable operator who decided what you saw. Well, kinda. But now with several packages, and a variety of new channels coming on board, get ready to be picking and changing channels and/or packages.

     

    #4 One more monthly payment to be made

     

    If your existing arrangement with the cablewallah allowed you to pay just once a year, now you may want to make it a monthly cycle, until you’ve decided what package to take.

     

    #5 More money

     

    Set-top boxes for all the help/assistants at home, office, the driver… and the building sweeper and watchman. Guess one of the suggestions that someone should’ve made to the government that is that investments in buying set-top boxes will get you tax exemption. This could be sizeable given the number of boxes you’ll be buying in the immediate future.

     

  • Too many online shopping sites? On the contrary, says Satish Mani

    The Anchor: 5 reasons India can accommodate more e-commerce sites

    By Satish Mani

     

    #1 Increased Digital Connectivity:

    With the explosive growth in broadband penetration and mobile phone usage across population strata and town classes, the online population in India is expected to double by 2015. This will fuel the demand for products and services available online.

     

    #2 Enhancement of service levels by e-commerce firms:

    E-commerce companies are constantly enhancing their service levels through better delivery, more realistic shopping experience, customer-centric purchase and return policies. This will lead to an increase in customer confidence for shopping online and they will migrate a higher proportion of their discretionary spends online.

     

    #3 Increasing need for convenience:

    Traffic congestion and crowded retail infrastructure in smaller towns and cities increase the demand for home delivery. We will soon see major retailers adopting the e-commerce route to keep up with consumer demand.

     

    #4 Increasing adoption of online shopping by the younger population:

    The younger population, with an early exposure to the internet has been quick to adopt online shopping. This increasing adoption opens more growth opportunity for the e-commerce industry.

     

    #5 High infrastructural costs for brick and mortar outlets:

    As the cost of establishing and maintaining an offline retail presence becomes increasingly expensive, big brands will be prompted to invest in increasing their online presence.

     

    Satish Mani is Chief Technical Officer of Zovi.com