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Tag: Vermajee

  • Many brand or company purposes are just a mask. They are bound to fail as they are fake, notes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Effectiveness ladder of purpose-led branding in life and business

     

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaFinally, last Sunday, I visited my dear friend and mentor Vermajee at his Mumbai residence. Last week, he returned from one of the ashrams in Uttarakhand after completing a meditation course that started on December 25, 2022 and ended on January 4, 2023. He was feeling fresh but was not opposed to some drinks in the evening, and the mood was sombre and purpose-led.

    Lintas sent me to a short four-day yoga meditation at Lion’s den Lonavala in the mid-1990s. By Day 3, I was talking to rocks and flowers and ready to leave. I poked Vermajee by telling him that maybe he was now enlightened with a purpose in life and that he had a direction.

     

    Simplifying Purpose.

    Vermajee spoke. You watch cricket, and you would have watched a purposeful Australian cricket team trying to win against a South African who suddenly realised they had a purpose too. Maybe they were inspired by the suddenly purpose-led Pakistan cricket team on the last day of the test match with New Zealand. The goal of every team is the same. To win and not to lose- to engage their fans. The intent may be stronger if the test series championship is at stake. The strategies and the format may differ, but the purpose remains the same.

     

    THE PICTURE WAS GENERATED BY DALLE.E

     

    Purpose In Life.

    Similarly, we all have the same purpose in life. To live by Dharma and keep improving with time by natural evolution or individualistic drive. To repay our debts. The ultimate purpose is Salvation- Mokasha– Nirvana. It is as simple as that. It’s what every enlightened person and preacher has been saying. Do good. Do live and let live. To not only be seen as a good Smartian, a person with Dharma, honesty, love and care, and to behave like one. And being a better person than you were yesterday is the simplest way. Don’t you always send wishes to friends, ‘May your today be better than your tomorrow’. You just need to tweak it a bit. Say, ‘May you be better than what you were yesterday’, and the wishes will not only have a better meaning but a great direction- however, many may not understand and appreciate this change.

     

    Probing Purpose-Led Business.

    I knew Vermajee was oversimplifying the whole discussion, and it was time to throw a bait and get the maximum out of it.

    I poked further. That would mean that every purpose-led business, brand, and service must have the same purpose. Then what is there with all these purpose-led design and communication purpose-led brands?

    Vermajee smiled, and that smile said that he had been thinking about the subject. He countered, why should it be different for the business.?

     

    Purpose And Business.

    Vermajee continued, and I started soaking in the Gyan.

    The business purpose is growth. Brand purpose is to create better services and products at a lower and lower cost. What they change for you is the individual company’s outlook. And the purpose of it is to create preference. To evolve with time and adapt to the changing needs, demands, desires, aspirations, and expectations- thus giving the experience that is better than expected. Simple, that is the business purpose.

    There is nothing much to it. Consultants, agencies and researchers are trying to find a purpose for their brand, company, product or service. It is a business purpose, their business purpose. People who don’t understand, explore and realise their life’s purpose are telling the company what its purpose should and could be.

     

    You Don’t Force A Purpose.

    You start with a purpose, and there is nothing wrong with it. There is even nothing wrong if the purpose gets tweaked with time as it reflects the flexibility and agility of the company. But you don’t create a purpose. However, you may discover a purpose. It is simple: you may have a purpose or don’t. And it is fine if you understand the overall macro purpose of business.

    I have told you the business purpose from a consumer point of view. There is another purpose, which is creating wealth for the stakeholders. Remember, most will replace stakeholders with shareholders, but that is a myopic view. Stakeholders are a broader ecosystem, including Government, business associates, the category, and the consumers. The wealth could be intrinsically monetary and could be emotional.

     

    Purpose-Led, Purpose Less, Without Purpose And Faking A Purpose.

    Well, it’s the best situation if you have a purpose that defines and directs your decision. And that you are always true to it. It is more demanding than discovering the purpose. But not having a unique purpose for your company, brand and service is not wrong. Purpose does not make a company better or superior unless the company understands the growth, wealth and preference creation purpose of business. Like in life, many of us may not have a defined purpose, but we don’t lead a purposeless life. They are two different things. Such people may be more healthy, emotionally wealthy, and happy.

    The problem is when one fakes the purpose. When one forces a purpose or tries to define everything around a purpose. Where purpose is a mask and not a reality. Or when a purpose is a tool for perception creation. There may not be much wrong, but a fake purpose does not last. All fake purposes are campaign able and time-bound. They are a drag on the company after some time. One gets constrained and controlled by them, and getting out of it becomes tougher and more challenging with time. Because such a purpose does not align with the purpose of business, I shared it with you.

    Many brand or company purposes sold by consultants and agencies, like gender neutrality, wokeism, inner beauty, equality, and saving the world, based and sustenance-led green purposes, are just a mask. They are bound to fail as they are fake and not aligned with the real business purpose of growth, constant improvement and being future-ready.

     

    Without Purpose A Safer Bet For Brand And Companies

    With a twinkle in his eyes and a self-satisfying smile playing on his lipsVermajee could read the dilemma I was facing. He clarified for my benefit.

    It is better to be without a purpose than to fake a purpose. Faking a purpose is adharma in business. Doing anything for your benefit, manufacturing a purpose, and doing anything not aligned with the business’s long-term purpose is adharma.

     

    Archetype Masking

    Vermajee continued. I am not saying that the company should not try to explore or discover the purpose. But before adopting it, they must adapt to it across their internal landscape. Understand how the same person wears different masks while interacting with various stakeholders and how that is confusing and detrimental to a uniquely defined image.

     

    Net-Net

    Vermajee looked at me and continued to sum up the discussion.

    You should understand it is like the archetype-based purpose discovery workshop you do. Or the multiple archetype masking discovery you do for the organisations to align everything towards the same objective, knowing fully well that the objective is a mid-milestone and sometimes masquerades as a purpose.

    Everyone is happy as they discover something collectively which seems to work. But, I will iterate and say it is better to be without a defined purpose than to fake or force a purpose. And defining the purpose is a responsibility of Senior management- How to do that, you understand.

     

  • Sanjeev Kotnala stresses on the need for effective implementation as key to the success of the recently formalised code

    ASCI Influencer Guidelines: A Good Start But Must Evolve With Time

    Picture edited from a post on the ASCI social media handle

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaI enjoy such epic moments and milestones in the evolution of our marketing and advertising fraternity. It is heartening to see that ASCI, the Advertising Standards Council of India, finally launch the much-awaited and much-debated guidelines on influencer marketing. To be operational from June 14, 2021, simply put, it asks an influencer to clearly flag a sponsored/ paid-for content. Because, with great influence comes greater responsibility.

     

    I love watching polarised views emerge and new debates taking birth. Points and counter-points are traded, and a few of the masks come down. Good, Bad and Ugly punches are exchanged without the famous tune. Everyone is like – if you want to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk!

     

    Everyone agrees that it is the need of the hour. A few with the experience with past guidelines and their impact – wait with bated breath to see – how successful the implementation will be.

    And that is where I too had many questions.

     

    I was in a positive mood as recently ASCI had upheld my complaint on a product’s Covid immunity claim. Also, it upheld the complaint against an actor for violating celebrity guidelines.

     

    So, over the weekend, I had a Zoom meeting with my dear friend and consultant Vermajee. Here is the summary of what we discussed over a cup of ID filter coffee.

     

    Vermajee said that brands and marketers are finding new ways to communicate and influence consumer choices with technology. It is the right of the audience to know if the message is sponsored or paid for. Honestly, if it not self-regulated, someone will step in to regulate, and none of us wants it.

     

    So, ASCI had to start somewhere someday. Influencer advertising was rising and was being misused. He questioned as to why do I expect the guidelines to be perfect. He reminded me that perfection is a myth and that guidelines and rules lag behind abuse and exploitations. So, there is no point in waiting for perfection and trying to close every loophole before implementation. According to him, full marks to ASCI for taking action in a time-bound fashion. I never knew he was that pro-ASCI. 

     

    PAST EXPERIENCE CREATES DOUBTS.

    But, he also had doubts. He questioned if ASCI can really stop anyone from posting on social media without following the guidelines. ASCI expects peer pressure and influencers to set examples as a way to change behaviour. That is one of the most foolish things to expect.

    Vermajee believes, and I too sincerely endorse, that ‘Nothing will happen unless the erring brand is held responsible for the actions of the influencers and celebrities. Unless infringement in one media cannot be penalised by debarring the brand from every other media. Pointing out that the life of a social media campaign post is shorter than the time taken to file a complaint, ASCI must act in hours and not weeks. Technology and AI usage to catch the erroring Influencer is a good step. Hopefully, these guidelines will not be another toothless tiger. But, frankly, he doubts if anything will happen.

     

    DOUBTS PERSIST.

    So, it is not surprising that I had a sinking feeling about the whole thing.

     

    It reminded me of the powerful sequence from Hindi cinema. Deewar, where Shashi Kapoor, the policemen aka ASCI, asks Amitabh Bachchan, the erroring fraternity member aka Influencer, to write that the content is paid or sponsored.

     

    The influencer AB answers, which so cheese off with non-inclusive polarised guidelines that impact media differently, is full of anger and frustration in being single out for its success. The Influencer says, ‘Jao Pehle akhbaar se Sahi tareekhe se likwakar aao ki content sponsored advertorial hai editorial Nahi.’ ‘Go first make the newspapers write prominently that the content an advertisement, paid and sponsored and not an edit material.’

     

     DIFFERENT TAKE.

    Maybe it will manage to push every Influencer to transparently declare their association and or conflict of interest while posting about the brand. It is going to be a tough one. As the moment such a declaration is made, the possible impact of the message drops. Who will pay for this decreased efficiency and lowered revenues of the influencers? The truth is, it is in the interests of the brand that such associations are not publicly acknowledged. So, in case of guidelines violations, it is brands that should be penalised.

     

    There is another point of view and a possibility, that the market will self correct itself. And in some time the impact of labelling a content as paid/sponsored etc on its reach and effectiveness will get neutralised. When that happens and the audience will no longer have to guess the association, it will have a net positive impact. 

     

    MORE ISSUES.

    How is ASCI going to control foreign influencers and celebrities from not following the guidelines? Social media is, after all, global with no boundaries. I am not sure how it can control and object to a tweet that did not originate on Indian soil or an Indian Influencer. So, will it shift the focus from Indian influencers? Vermajee reiterated, unless you do not hold the brand primarily responsible for it, the problem will remain.

     

    THE INFLUENCER AND CELEBRITY DEBATE.

    Is the influencer guidelines different from the celebrity guidelines? Should they be different? How are we sure that the audience can differentiate and advertisement and content when it comes from a celebrity but fails to do so when it comes to the influencers? And, when does an influencer become a celebrity? Does the number of followers, frequency of the post, or the quantum of the monetary transaction define the status?

     

     ACT EARLY.

    The error and mistake need to be curbed at the start.

     

    ASCI processes are long-drawn. The change-modification demand is in reality a request. Unless ASCI is willing to haul some brand all the way – across the legal challenges- and make an example of it- trust me, the violations will remain.

     

    Vermajee, taking another sip of coffee, clarified his position. “I am all for the influencers and celebrities doing due diligence and getting the paperwork right. Misinformation should be avoided at any cost. So, I would welcome, if the onus of guideline implementation is firmly on the brand.”

     

    TURBULENT PAST.

    ASCI has failed to demonstrate the intent and implementation of such guidelines in the case of newspapers. The inclusive educational approach to shape the narrative across media, creative developers and celebrities have failed. We continue to see the best of the brands and marketers flouting the guidelines. And ASCI still thinks such an education outreach initiative in influencer advertising will show any different results.

     

    Why can’t all member bodies ensure that everyone associated with the creative development and media functions has taken the ASCI course on guidelines?

     

    HOPE IS EVERYTHING.

    But life must continue. One must believe in the intent and the ASCI promise to ensure that the guidelines evolve with time. It is in the interests of consumer, influencers, agencies, platforms and advertisers.

     

    WHAT ABOUT THE SOCIAL MEDIA.

    While licking the last bit of coffee, Vermajee shared what he was thinking. We have seen the arrogance of these social media giants. They arrogantly address parliaments and committees. They challenge the rules of the nations and even suggest what rules the country should have. They believe in creating and expecting their own rules and guidelines to supersede everything else. Everything under policies, privacy and freedom of expression- how will ASCI work with them?

     

    What will be the role of the social media platform?

     

    Will the social media platform on ASCI request or complaint closing the account of an errant influencer not following the guidelines? Don’t we know the answer!

     

    STILL, EACH ONE OF US CAN CONTRIBUTE.

    So, enjoy the feel-good moment and clap for the ASCI milestone of influencer guidelines. Wish ASCI all the best. And let us contribute by taking the pledge to religiously follow the guidelines. At least we can individually do so.

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is a senior business strategist and educator. He writes on MxMIndia every Wednesday. His views here are personal

     

  • Even emptiness, meditation, selflessness have these two elements of expectation and experience… one of the many lessons Sanjeev Kotnala received on the issue

    Mind The Gap… between Expectations & Experiences

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaBy Sanjeev Kotnala

    It was a lovely breezy evening at Nirvana Cottage in Mukhteshwar, Uttrakhand. At 7,100 feet and some 72 Km from Haldwani, the temperature was a bone-chilling 2-degree centigrade. The bonfire and our favourite Old Monk was working overtime to keep us warm. I was facing a tricky situation in Life. The experience not even coming near the expectation. Everything was against me. Fight, Flight or Freeze! Action, reaction and Inaction! I expected everything to work against me. My friend, philosopher and guide, Vermajee; the marketing consultant was my last stop of confession and advice.

    I was not to be disappointed. After the third peg of Old Monk with Coke, ever-dependable Vermajee opened up and the shower of gyaan started. ‘Life is an experience and a journey into unchartered terrain. We may be on the same train but can have different expectation and experience. After all, we have our own filters. After the two truths of Life, the birth and the certainty; death, everything is probabilistic in nature. Everything is a transaction. There are expectations and experiences. In fact, we are living our Life all around these two dimensions. Even emptiness, meditation, self-lessness too has these two elements of expectation and experience’.

    I was impressed. It felt like Arjun with Lord Krishna. It was all about loyalty and dharma.

    Having interacted with Vermajee, I sincerely believe that there is a market for a Corporate Swami. Let me park that thought.

    Vermajee who chooses his battles well continued. ‘You must manage the E-Gap in your Life. Life is simple. Don’t complicate it’, Initially, I did not know where the discussion was going. Still, a part of me desperately agrees to what he was saying.

    ‘We all try to be responsive to changing expectations and have our expectations. For us to be happy and at peace. The experience must exceed expectation. That’s where the catch is because the expectations are telescopic in nature’.

    Vermajee took another gulp from his glass, I realised it will need a refill soon. He looked up seeking answers from the milky way that was visible in the clear sky.

    ‘We all look for engagement and involvement, try to be innovative in finding solutions, create an ecosystem of family and friends as supporting audience. We use every trick Shaam (logic), Daam (price), Dand (Penalty) and Bhed (differentiation) get our view based on our past experience and re-negotiated expectation’.

    ‘We prioritise as per our needs and situation. Life is all more about what to sacrifice than what to do. We evaluate our potential and capabilities. Challenge the ever-present possibilities. Try balancing the narrative and POV’s of the stakeholders, hoping things will follow our expectations’.

    He now looked me square in the eyes. With a smile, he said, Sanjeev, Life is two-dimensional; Expectation and Experience. The actions, reactions and inactions, strategically or otherwise, resulting from E-Gap; emotional gap between the expectations and experience. Nothing more’.

    ‘By nature, every episode in Life real or perceived, intentional or unintentional, selfish or self-less has an element of expectation attached to it. The expectation can be tangible or intangible, emotive or functional, numeric or expression-based. Even when our experience is not detailed out, expectation exists. Our rational arguments and logical inferences, along with emotive, irrational thoughts define our expectations’.

    ‘Unfortunately, we remain self-centred, lacking the empathy to view situations by getting into other party shoes. We ignore our critique and feedback. We tend to negate history, along with changing expectations and experiences. We must take them into consideration. Look at the pain and pleasure points of stakeholders in our ecosystem. They are the best indicator and directional pointers to future possibility. The pleasure points are our experience enhancers, and we tend to just become comfortable with them’.

    ‘To create likeability to satisfy our misplaced egos, which anyway results from past expectations and experience, we make Life complicated. We tend to ignore weighing the possible impact and relevance of our actions in the long term’.

    ‘We rarely voice our expectation, agreement, and prioritisation. And we expect the outer environment to understand the unsaid expectation and the experiences to follow it. The complete experience has multiple small prioritised experiences. In Life all, experiences have foreplay and follow-up. Hence, the brands must look at the complete scope of experience and expectations’.

    The marketing consultant Vermajee toyed with my confused look. ‘Hence in Life, there is a premium on consistency and authenticity. Our repeat experience re-establishes, re-strengthens or negates the experience or the resultant perceptions. We know, perceptions, the resultant summary of expectation and experiences is more real than the truth. A recent experience is benchmarked against expectations and past experiences. Hence consistency and authenticity are a critical element in all our relationships’.

    ‘To make Life simple, we must constantly re-evaluate expectations and examine the experience feedback. We should Pause, reflect on the existing E-GAP. Absorb the learnings. Tweak, redraft-recraft wherever required and move on’.

    ‘Our capability to re-align experience to expectations and vice versa should be a constant process in today’s dynamic world of interlocked ecosystems of relationships. So, go ahead, and land evaluate your actions against not only your expectation and experiences but also other’s expectations from us and the experiences we deliver’.

    I was surprised at the new avatar of Vermajee, and it was natural for me to ask, how did it happen? Where did you get these insights into Life?

    Vermajee smiled and looked disappointed with my observation. He then told me the secret. ‘I am a brand and marketing consultant. A brand is a living entity just like you and me. A social entity which must appreciate realities.  What I told you is no different than what I will tell the brand. In case you feel different, just read the above by replacing you with a brand, and it will read the same’.

    ‘The whole branding and marketing game, sales and delivery, product design and innovation, service and recovery geared to create preferences and premium works around Expectation and Experience. Everything that any brand does is manage the E-GAP, the resulting emotional gap between the Expectation and Experience. Hence, the brand must manage expectation and experience. As the expectation results from many things that may not be in total control of the brand, it’s the experience that the brand must manage’.

    I know my expectation from Vermajee was getting higher by the day and he is going to find it really tough to match it with experience. But, let’s keep it simple and leave it for the next time.

     

  • Print and News has a bright future and how the big and small entities play the game will decide their future, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    An Opportunity to Refocus for Newspapers

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    My first reaction on one of the leading newspaper titles doing a 128-pagination in a Tier-II town, was to congratulate them. The title cautious claimed: ‘probably the highest ever pagination for any newspaper in India in recent times’. Apparently, the readers waited and welcomed the hawker delivering the newspaper with traditional tika. The title delivered higher pagination in other cities before delivering an 80 pager in Gujarat. Wow!

     

    I know what all goes into making it possible. How the teams strategise. How sales teams work on every front to deliver what could be showcased as a return of advertiser’s confidence in print. A brilliant move just before the festive period. Ads generate Ads in the newspaper business.

     

    It rightly claimed that the newspaper is still the most trusted information source. However, its claim of higher pagination reflects editorial excellence or advertisers’ interest, or revival of market situation should be taken with a pinch of salt. The PR release reiterated the point referring to a report that Tier-II and Tier-III cities are expected to lead the economic revival.  The title used the pagination story to even hint at them capturing the advertising spends across the markets it operates in. Maybe for that day, otherwise it is stretching things a bit far.

     

    The CIRCULATION safety net

    There is good news on the circulation front. The newspapers in the non-metro markets have reported catching up to the pre-COVID period circulation numbers. They claim of achieving 85-90% of circulation. That definitely is a show of confidence and engagement by the readers.

     

    The DOUBLE delight

    Meanwhile, an English Newspaper with some lagged insight and understanding of readers changing life behaviour served a double delight on Saturday. Understanding the readers having more time to spend, they decided to deliver two newspapers. Yes, two newspapers – two front pages, two business pages, two of everything possible. (The last Sunday though had only one edit and one sports page). Wow, this one was really reader-centric, twice the content. This newspaper has been at top of the newspaper marketing game and if you dig deep maybe you can smell marketing brilliance in the move. 

     

    The FAULT lines

    However, when I spoke to people in the market, I did not see advertisers and readers aligned to the newspaper publisher’s strategic moves. I reached out to our consultant friend Vermajee who has solved many issues for me. I met him over a cup of tea. He laughed at my designer mask and commented, ‘How can you be so blind to miss out seeing it from the readers and advertisers’ point of view. How you cannot read between the headlines and the retweets’.

     

    Vermajee’s VALID questions

    He looked at the visual documentation and asked a simple question. How often have you waited for the newspaper hawker? How many times have you rolled out such elaborate welcome kit? I said none. So, he raised his thick eyebrows pushed the specs on his nose and said, ‘Having answered the question. I must agree, it is excellent, even if it was staged. Marketing needs it’. I just agreed.

    Now, as for the content. The higher pagination or the double delight. Does it mean that on that fateful day there was too much news or the publication till now was not covering all the news? It tells you that the efficient and effective sales teams with strong market control have managed to get advertisements to fill the additional pages the management has strategically decided print.

    More pages cost money. The subscription price does not change. The hawker may demand more commission. Newspaper title do not print additional pages without a revenue justification.

    So, to keep the ad-edit ratio in some manageable limit, you need content. And with no tsunami of news flooding globally – you fill the additional space with featured articles and non-topical write-ups. That’s editorial excellence.

    Do not ever forget, people buy newspaper for News and topical issues.

    Moreover, readers know their newspapers. They have a peculiar way to navigate through pages. This is a critical part of the whole newspaper experience.

    So, when a reader who is habituated to 18-20 pages, is suddenly given 80 or 120 pages split into subsets, the reader is naturally at a loss. The readers are blind to the pagination and do not know the path beyond what the reader reads every day.

    The reader reads what he or she reads every day. The rest of the pages remain orphaned. To make ads seen on these pages, the publication must depend upon content pointers, advertisement placement or contest.

     

    ADVERTISERS are smart.

    Every client knows that a regular advertisement will get lost in on a day with higher pagination. To be seen, it has to be of a large size or positioned well or it will attract fewer eyeballs.

     

    Now, on a particular day, advertisers have been pooled in for relationship selling. They may have been given an offer they couldn’t resist or found too tough to refuse. Or they sold the concept of needing to prime the market. Or better still the newspaper created a new opportunity like Akshaya Tritiya.  The brands and local business seems to be ‘going all in’ this time.

     

    Now notice, editions carried higher pagination on different dates. Safe to presume there was no specific reason to advertise on these days. Start of Adhik Mass or end of Pitra Paksha or Mahalaya is no reason. Though the title did carry articles suggesting auspicious dates in Adhik Mass and that it was one in 160 days phenomenon. Trust. Normally, it is advised not to initiate any auspicious activities in Adhik Mass. But that debate is not for us.

     

    Whatever it may be. It is a marketing-sales win. One must congratulate the teams for it. The real test is coming now. Like every year, there are specific dates and days like Dussehra, Aksahya Tritiya, Dhan Terras, Ashtami, Diwali when pagination is expected to go up. Can the pagination go up on rest of the dates?

     

    READER’s JOY.

    Vermajee was in his element. Not all readers or shall I say consumers hate this navigation issue with double delight or higher pagination. Parchoon ki dukaan, tea vendor welcomes it. It also adds some radhi. Retired people, and the digital phobic people, who read newspaper start to end, welcome it. For the head of the family, that is mostly male, it is a shield of privacy, have you not heard. ‘papa ko disturb mat karna paper pad rahey hai’ ie don’t disturb your father he is reading the newspaper. Higher pagination, double delight all adds minutes and at times hours to the effectiveness of the shield. The question remains, how does the younger generation react and there is no good news there.

     

    Newspapers must manage the E-SQUARE-GAP.

    Every activity, including the reading of a newspaper, works on the principle of E-SQUARE GAP. Now E-square Gap is represented on two dimensions. Expectation and Experience. This is how perceptions are made or broken. Vermajee took a sip of his coffee and continued.

    Newspapers have an opportunity. The news channels are hardly doing the job and the social media is full of question marks. With low expectations, they can deliver a hugely positive experience. This can only happen with right, relevant and differentiated content. More advertisements, higher pagination or with a highly confusing double delight experiment add to the experience.

     

    And when they manage the E-square gap for the readers and the advertisers, newspapers will be in the win-win zone. The okay segment to operate is Low expectation- high experience and high expectation- high experience. One can survive with Low expectation- low experience, but a high expectation-low experience is just digging the grave.

    For example, the newspaper engages the readers when it masks the face of a minister while covering the news. When it says ‘Hum Aapka Chehra Nahi Dikate Jab Aap Mask Nahi lagatey’. ie, we won’t show your face if you don’t wear a mask. The newspaper makes a statement. This brilliant work was done by Dainik Bhakar in their Ratlam edition. There has to be more of such things.

    The newspaper does not have to claim to be the voice of the masses, the masses must identify it as the voice of the masses. Vermajee looked pleased with his master mantra and asked his secretary Aish to note it down. I knew it was going to cost me a bottle. 

     

    Vermajee believes Newspaper STILL has a lot of power

    The story that ‘Newspapers are dead’ is an old story where the bluff has been called many  times. It is still growing, though digital is making headway. But then digital is suffering from so many questions. That we will question some other day.

    Newspapers still remain the trusted information provider and the opinion maker. It is a dominant media, though with decreasing engagement. The polarisation of readers is a reality along with the not so favourable age skew.

    The attempts to get the new generation interested will continue with declining interest and confidence. The migration of readers to news digital avatar will keep showing mixed results.

    The titles need to give a reason for the audience to pay and invest their time. And it is possible. News sites like The Ken, Campaign, Wall Street Journal and National Geographic are already doing such work basis their content quality.

    The power will remain skewed towards the more significant titles. The smaller newspapers will slowly ease out of the ecosystem. The rate at which this happens depends upon how the newspapers manage the E-square gap.

    How they manage the digital migration. If they find ways to engage the new generation.  If they realise that they are in the business of NEWS and not necessarily NEWSPAPER. Where differentiated, maybe niche and relevant content are more critical than pagination or the format.

     

    EXPERIMENTS and EXPERIENCE.

    Print and News has a bright future till the time there are publishers willing to defend their turf, understand changing audience, new emerging consumption patterns, experiment, and experiment again.  Some experiment will always lead to criticism and maybe unexpected results. But that is part of the business.

    Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran, Rajasthan Patrika, Eenadu, Malayala Manorama, TOI and Hindustan Times are newspapers that are doing a great job. Hope they could have worked collectively for a larger cause.

    The edit-advertisement ratio has to improve further to be in sync with the media consumption pattern.  The subscription rates have to go up dramatically to reduce the dependence of advertisement. Possible. Can they trust each other and collectively take a call- is not a question – just a dream as the answer is known to most of us.

    The tea got over and I took leave of Vermajee. Vermajee fired his last question: Okay, so double delight because the reader has more time to invest. Then why not on Sunday Too- or that would have been too much. Or why not new format news at a glance on other days? What will I do without my dear consultant friend Vermajee?