MxMIndia

Tag: Vikas Mehta

  • What business are the aggregator apps in?

    What business are the aggregator apps in?

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

    Vikas MehtaA few weeks back I had written on the decline in the services of aggregator apps and related my personal experiences with a few apps. You can find the article here.

    Some of you readers wrote back and asked me for the reasons of this decline. As one put it, usually new offerings with new technology get ironed out over a period of time. So, why should the aggregator apps be an exception to this? Fair question and it set me thinking.

    Before I continue, I would like to convey my thanks to Hamsini Shivkumar, Brand Consultant and Semiotician par excellence. It was she who nudged me into thinking deeper and we had a fair exchange of ideas. Much of what I write today is the result of her thoughts.

    Let’s look at this decline in quality, first by looking at the Indian consumer.

    Most of the aggregator apps like Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Oyo; when they came on to the scene, they offered a new service, promising higher standards of delivery at cheap rates. I am using the word cheap deliberately. The transport aggregators offered cabs at your doorsteps within minutes and their rates were lesser than a traditional ‘kaali-peeli cab’. They offered not only the convenience of quick service but also avoided the hassle of looking for a cab and the cabbie declining to take you to your destination.

    Food service apps suddenly provided one with the comfort of home delivery from various restaurants at no extra cost.

    Oyo provided cheap hotels with a minimum quality assurance.

    Make My Trip offered everything one needed to travel including air schedules and bookings across airlines, railways and gradually also bus service. Hotels, cab pick-up and drop-offs and even guides for tourist places were gradually added on. And there was hardly any extra charge in the beginning.

    And almost all of them started peddling discount coupons and more offers to make the deal even sweeter.

    That’s why I used the word cheap. New services, new comforts and new conveniences were available cheaply.

    All these were targeted at the Indian middle class. And the Indian middle class still confuses value with cheap. Typically, value could be defined as same for less. Or more for same. Or more for more. Or even less for less.

    Same for less means cheaper, discounts. More for same means you add some more benefits. Buy one get one free or 200 gms extra in a pack of 500 gms at the same price of 500 gms. More for more would be pay only Rs 500 extra for buffet breakfast with a room. Less for less would be a star hotel giving you a room but not allowing you the facilities of a gym or a swimming pool.

    The Indian middle class as a generalisation picks up more for same or same for less. Give them a room at a discounted price and they are happy. Free airport drop and pickup is accepted. But adding buffet breakfast at a marginal cost may not be appealing. No extra money shelling out. Period.

    This is not to say that the middle class is not quality seeker. But they want best quality at low prices. They are not even looking at more for more. That’s why howls of protest arose throughout the country as transport aggregators started charging peak hour or rush hour or traffic surge surcharge. So much so, that public opinion forced some states to ban these surcharges by law! The typical middle class consumer has no problems accepting discounts but when charged extra due to high demand it demurs!

    More for more works for the luxury good or premium service seekers. These may not be the typical middle class. So, a Vistara charges you higher fare as they give wider seats, more leg space and free food and it has its premium users. Or these are people who will not want an anonymous biryani but a biryani from Paradise or Shah Ghouse in Hyderabad. The premium- or luxury-seekers are fine with these.

    And such people are few in numbers compared to the vast middle class who mostly is looking for more for same or same for less. The focus is solely on the price.

    Therefore, when the aggregator apps were launched and everything was same for less or more for same, these were lapped up. Cabs available at your location without any extra fees and maybe even cheaper than metered kali-peeli cabs were a hit. Food delivered in fast time without any delivery charge was a success. Hotel rooms available at much cheaper price with a promise of cleanliness and sanitation were lapped up.

    Now let’s see this picture from the viewpoint of the aggregator. Understanding the propensity of the middle class, they offered value but focussed on price. For the aggregator, it was hot food offered at the comfort of home at no extra cost but for the consumer it was about food at some discount too. It was not about cabs available quickly at your location without the fear of being declined by the cabbie but about great rates. It was not about an alternative available between 3-star and hole-in-the-wall shady hotels but about shady hotels available cheaper. To be honest, for both the cab aggregators and hotel aggregators, the story about cabs without declining and hotels with a standardised hygiene version were played up but these advantages were soon frittered away.

    Their partner service providers had been acquired also on the lure of substantial earnings. Hotels and restaurants were promised big incremental revenues. The delivery riders were promised lucrative, per ride fees. Transport aggregators too were giving the drivers big monies. And as word spread about easy money, more partners accrued.

    Discounts and price-cuts and subsidising of partners lasted for some time. And soon the aggregators were under pressure to improve margins. Move towards profitability. VCs wanted IPOs to cash out.

    The partners became disenchanted when aggregators cut the big incentives, subsidising of vehicles and even helping spruce up the hotel property. Rider fees were slashed. And delivery charges crept in. Travel aggregators included convenience fees. The situation became piquant as the consumer suddenly realised that the free or discounted does not make sense as extra charges were levied. So, s/he demanded more accountability. The brunt of this was faced by the partners such as delivery riders, hotels, cab drivers, airlines etc. In turn, these partners resorted to all sorts of jugaad. This led to service standards declining.

    And the jugaad mindset led to ingenuity of the partners. Cabbies, not wanting to travel short distances, would deliberately arrive late. Forcing the customer to call them. And on enquiring the destination, they would cancel the booking or say that they did not find the customer. Thus, not only causing major unhappiness but also destroying the advantage of ‘no declining’ as in traditional cabs. Restaurants realised that they could, in their own areas, do their own delivery. Hotels started asking regular visitors to book directly and gave them equal if not more discounts.

    The aggregators tried to control the partners with technology. OTPs, rating points, incentives based on ratings were introduced. But service is an interesting concept. It can be aided with technology but it cannot replace the human touch. The aggregators, under cost and margin pressure did not accentuate the human touch. Nor did they expand technology to aid the human touch. In fact, the reverse happened. It used to be difficult to get through customer service numbers. Now the customer service numbers just disappeared. Bots supported by AI came in. Social media sites were flooded with complaints. This spooked the investors who put more pressure on the aggregators. Things just went downhill.

    Another thing about service is that it becomes increasingly difficult to deliver consistent service online. In offline, service expectations differ according to customer segment and their location. Someone with a premium service mindset in Gurugram cannot be treated in the same way as a discount-oriented customer in Saharanpur. But in online, we have a single set of guidelines. We have one operating SOP. And this fails to deliver. No attempt has been made into moving into customisation of service.

    And because most aggregator apps have not defined their target group but want to engage all possible users, they are dealing with different set of users. This results in trying to keep all segments happy without aiming at anyone in particular. To use a mathematical analogy, this results in service systems which cater to the lowest common denominator, LCD. And not HCF, the highest common factor.

    Offline service standards are tweaked depending upon the location and your target customer. That’s why service companies do attain good standards, offline. But online, heavy investments are required to make it reach the customized HCF level. A luxury which the under-pressure aggregators cannot afford.

    And that’s why, all these aggregator apps, while realising that they are in different business must also realise that by being an aggregator, their core is about service. Transportation, food delivery, rooms, travel is the second level of tangible benefit. The most important tangible benefit is service.

    I think Amazon is the only aggregator which has focused on service. It openly declared that it isn’t in the business of ecommerce or entertainment. But it is in the service business. This has helped it achieve higher customer satisfaction and loyalty than other aggregators. And Flipkart which had the first-mover advantage in India, is today owned by Walmart, a discount store brand. Maybe therein lies a tale.

  • Not just Quick Commerce

    Not just Quick Commerce

    With apologies to none at all

    Vikas MehtaFirst, a confession. I got it all wrong. About two years ago when quick commerce delivery started, I was sceptical. Indeed, I was a naysayer. My thinking was in a straight line. How many times would one need quick delivery? Why would we need things in 15-20 minutes over and over again. After all quick commerce will have a minimum order delivery benchmark. So, every time, I need a soap or a vegetable or a dal, will I be ready to spend not just for that one item but also a delivery charge as I may not fulfill the minimum order criteria. And then we got hooked onto ecommerce not just for convenience but also for the discounts. So, will the quick commerce guys give me discount similar to traditional ecommerce (never thought, would call ecommerce traditional, but we live in exciting times)? And boy, was I wrong? Just in two years, quick commerce controls a third of the e-grocery market, up from one-fifth.

    To add to this what surprised me was that the quick commerce players were not ecommerce players but either new ones or food delivery people. At best they had mastered the art of quick delivery. But not about warehousing, stocks, discounted pricing etc. During the pandemic when food delivery app like Zomato and Swiggy were out of play as restaurants etc were closed, they switched onto grocery deliveries. Like food, they tied up to pick groceries, vegetables etc from kirana shops, supermarkets etc and like food, delivered it. So, yes, they could deliver speedily but where was the experience of trading, stocking, pricing etc of groceries and fruits and vegetables? Wasn’t that more critical.

    I was an avid ecommerce shopper. Even before the pandemic, my monthly grocery etc shopping would be through Amazon or Big Basket. And the scales were tilting more towards Big Basket as that was a one-stop shop for groceries, knick-knacks, fruits and vegetables, packaged foods etc. Plus, their delivery time slot system was also a good attraction.

    So, when BlinkIt opened in Doon, their first dark centre or warehouse hardly 3.5 kms from my house, I ignored it. I would see the riders zipping in and out and standing in cluster outside the dark centre. What caught my attention was that the number of delivery people huddled around the dark centre kept on increasing exponentially, till the place started becoming a traffic menace.

    I dismissed this as an initial craze which would pass soon. I did download the app and was not too impressed with the offerings or the price. It was cheaper than MRP but in my biased view not as cheap as a typical ecommerce player. I did however notice that they also stocked socks and bedsheets and cookware and other homecare stuff. They also had electronics and pet items. But when the announced 15-minute delivery of iPhone 15 on its launch, I did start taking notice.

    And then on the day of Diwali when my wife asked me to get some fresh flowers and I could not find them in the neighbourhood, I checked on Blinkit. Not only were they delivering fresh flower but also a complete Puja thali with or without a small statue of Laxmi. I was really intrigued and I ordered.

    The app experience was wonderful. Once I registered my credit card, I did not even have to enter my PIN and BlinkIt has a tie up with MyGate. So, when my order was picked up by the delivery executive, Blinkit sent me a preapproval message and at a click, his entry was approved. All this from my locked home screen. The delivery was seamless in a neat bag, in 15 minutes. And the whole deal was not at all expensive.

    Now, I wanted to try more. So next week when we required household groceries etc including two bulbs, I looked at BlinkIt. The whole operation – from ordering to delivery – took around 20-25 minutes and the deal was worth it. The interesting thing I discovered was that whenever I needed something which does not fit into traditional grocery or vegetables, BlinkIt would have it. We needed some woollen socks and cap for our trip to Kashmir. I found it on BlinkIt without having to go to Myntra or Amazon.

    And I think this is the main reason why all naysayers of quick commerce have been proved wrong. It’s not about quick delivery only. What makes it interesting is that it goes beyond traditional grocery, fruits and vegetables and also stocks much more. Till now, I would rely on Amazon for anything other than groceries or vegetables. Then came Big Basket, and I could now get groceries, food, vegetables etc from one source. But I still required Amazon for everything else.  BlinkIt, for me, is a combination of Amazon and Big Basket. And delivered quickly. And at competitive prices. Not at a premium.

    So, for me, BlinkIt works as follows. One source where I find almost 95% of what I need usually. Prices competitive to other ecommerce players. A superior app experience. And finally, all that I need gets delivered in 15-20 minutes. I do not have to wait or follow up or even chase. This is as close to a offline personal shopping experience. You decide, you buy and it gets delivered. The shopping experience is complete. The circle is closed.

    I do not know much about Zepto or Instamart as they still do not deliver in Doon, but BlinkIt has, in my mind cracked the quick commerce code by not just focusing on speed of delivery but also on the range of products. I remember reading somewhere how some head honchos of quick commerce companies had spoken about opening many small dark stores storing about 2-3,000 SKUs. Each dark store would cover about 5-7 square kms. The thinking was that most households only need a limited range of goods quickly. So, the focus was not the width of goods available but the number of stores for quick delivery.

    This is exactly where the quick commerce companies could have gone wrong. And I see this happening with BBNow. They too are 3 kms away from my house but their range is quite limited. Indeed, I can find stuff on BigBasket but not BBNow. This is where I think BlinkIt has cracked the quick commerce code. As I write this, I get a notification that BBNow is delivering electronic items like chargers, power banks, phone covers etc in 15 minutes. So, they too are on a course-correction.

    It’s not about delivering a few products quickly, for that will be far and few per customer. But making available as wide a range as possible and delivering it all quickly. This also ensures a bigger order size. And psychologically it’s about completing the shopping process in real quick time. Threfore, if weekly offline shopping was a regular habbit, regular weekly quick commerce shopping is also now a habit

    So, convenience is not just about sitting at home and shopping or getting a missing product quickly. BlinkIt has added the dimension of completing the shopping loop in quick time. As I said, this imitates the complete offline shopping experience .

    And I know that it is working because I see more delivery guys, more two-wheelers and more yellow BlinkIt bags around. I have also, for the first time heard the local kirana shop owners complain as BlinkIt is eating into the traditional small buyer too. And most importantly I know that BlinkIt has found the successful formula when sometimes, even at 9 am, I open the app and I see an apology saying that they are overburdened with orders so I should try after sometime. And when they do accept the order, after sometime, they levy a traffic surge surcharge.

    Deja vu!

  • Aggregator apps- One step forward? Nah!Definitely two steps backwards

    Aggregator apps- One step forward? Nah!Definitely two steps backwards

    Vikas MehtaWith apologies to none at all

     

    I am an ancient relic. When I started working, forget email or computers even faxes were a rarity and corporates had STD phones (no, not the disease-inducing ones but the ones which enabled long-distance calls), which were always under lock and key lest they were misused. Telexes were the most often used mode of communication.

     

    In three decades, the evolution of technology in workplaces and for an individual has been astounding. And the last one decade has seen the emergence of new type of companies, brands and technology.

     

    But what stood out were the aggregator companies. These companies used technologies to aggregate various goods and services to be available at your fingertip and one could access it through the smartphones. Mobility, hospitality, food delivery, grocery delivery, in fact any type of delivery are all assembled under one platform. Now one did not have to go to a taxi stand or a travel agent or a market but the aggregators put everything together under one roof and it was all available at your doorstep.

     

    Personally, I revelled in the emergence of Ola and Uber, Swiggy and Zomato, Amazon and Flipkart, Make My trip and Oyo, sorry strike out Oyo. But I did enjoy the offerings of these aggregators. Planning a trip at a short notice, intra-city travel, ordering food, all became child’s play. And also, one experimented, tried new travel routes, destinations, hotels and of course food. Initial hiccups were accepted with a pinch of salt and improvements were always expected to be round the corner. But, when the novelty disappeared, the frustrations mounted. Improvements were far and few. Same problems were being encountered and overall standards of these new kids on the block was shockingly abysmal. On my travel two weeks ago, I used most of these aggregator apps and following is my review of these.

     

    I will start with Oyo. Inspite of persistent advice from my well-wishers, not to touch Oyo with a bargepole. I decided to try it out again, after a gap of maybe 6-7 years. Earlier, I have had mixed experience with Oyo and at least twice I was pleasantly surprised with their offerings in Gurugram. So, this time when I had some work in Delhi, in an area where Oyo seemed to be the only option available, I had to clock in by 8:30 am and I did want to stay, preferably, walking distance away, so I opened my Oyo app.

     

    I had about 6-7 Oyo options available in a kilometre radius and most were pretty cheap. The photographs were decent and approval ratings hovered between 3-3.5. I took the plunge. I even prepaid as the amount was not big. Big mistake, as I learnt later. One day before the trip I get an automated call saying there is a problem at the Oyo I have chosen. So, I was given an option to cancel or get my booking transferred to another Oyo. No mention of which. I just disconnected, worried about what to do next.

     

    After 15-20 minutes, a customer service executive called. Like a rote she repeated the automated message. When I ask her about the option she mentioned some hotel 500 metres away from this one. I was tempted to change but I asked her about the charges of this place and will it be adjusted against my payment? Oh, for that I need to call the helpline, she said. And she volunteered the number. Irritated, I ask her why should I call? You are changing my booking so please first tell me the rate and refund/ adjustment status, I retort. Sorry, sir. She replied without any hesitation, I do not have access to that information. You just tell me if I need to cancel or transfer your booking. By this time, I had lost my patience so I asked her to cancel my booking.

     

    I go back to my app and I find a message that my refund has been initiated. Emboldened, I look for alternatives and this time choose a Oyo Townhouse. Supposed to be a Oyo-owned property. So must be good. I book it and pay up. In the meantime, I got a message that my full money has been refunded. Since it was a UPI payment, I got it back the same way. I felt relieved and happy.

     

    Next day, I land up in the area and I find at least 4-5 Oyos exactly in the same place where my townhouse is supposed to be. In adjacent buildings. I trudge up one of those. The receptionist looks at my app, scrolls up and down, calls someone else who repeats the process and then tells me that ‘aapka Oyo’ is two buildings away. Off, I go again. Find my Oyo. Am checked in a jiffy and someone escorts me to my room. On the way up I see two young couples coming down. No bags. Nothing on them. They just handover the key to the guy accompanying me and say, check out. And leave.

     

    I entered the room. It was basic. Paint peeling off. The bathroom looked okay at a glance. The room had no towel or soap. On asking I was given a towel and two small bottles of body wash. I suddenly realised that I have not been given any room key. My escorter, searched the room for a lock and then saunters out saying I will get one.

     

    Ten minutes later, I was down, wanting to go out and I asked for my room key. The guy looked around and then asked me to wait. He was busy taking photocopies of Aadhar cards of another bagless couple. Another gent sauntered in and asks if his room was ready. He had been told to come back in 15 minutes and it was now 30 minutes. He was told to go upstairs and check it himself. He gulped. I rolled my eyes and realised that I have made a mistake. I ask for room key again and am told not to worry as CCTV cameras are everywhere.

     

    At this stage, I told them I want to check out and did some namedropping. Suddenly, a suitcase lock emerges and I am asked to please not cause a problem. I lock my room and leave. I returned late around 9 pm and found that my toilet was very dirty. The cold and my tiredness precluded me from checking out but I was clear: I will check out first thing in the morning.

     

    I was tired and late because of my experience with Ola, the second aggregator I tried. I booked an Ola to come back at around 6:30 pm and first, my ride was cancelled. Finally, another driver turned up. As I settled down amidst the Gurugram traffic rush, my driver told me that he will take a shorter route, it’s on the map but road is not good. Positive is that it will save 15 minutes. This was what his app told him. I agreed. Another mistake. The road was not all that bad, but the route was through narrow lanes and bazars and we ended up lost. At that stage, I put the map on my phone on and started directing the driver. On my app I was getting a message to rate my trip and the driver was getting messages to pick up another passenger! It was total breakdown. Chaos. Imagine if the passenger was a female.

     

    Technically, I should have not paid the driver as my trip was over and rating was being asked for. But I paid him in cash when he dropped me, not at my destination but a kilometre away. Oh, did I tell you? Ola now gives the option of paying online before your trip is over. Else you have to pay the driver in cash. And sometimes one pays, one gets a payment done message and 5 minutes later Ola sends a message that the transaction failed. If the money has been debited from your account please call Ola helpline. The onus is on the customer, not Ola!

     

    Two apps down, next morning I open Make My Trip. The first surprise was that when I broadened my search to a 3-4 km radius the majority of the hotels being shown were still Oyo. This time, I researched properly. I shortlisted 3-4 options. I did not even look at the cheap ones, I read at least 5-6 reviews, read the AI generated review summary and finally picked one hotel 3.5 km away from my meeting point. I must confess, the MMT app seemed easier to navigate, its reviews seemed balanced and it had more parameters like quality of food, closeness to metro station etc.

     

    And the place I chose, was good. The experience was as promised by the app. So, a thumbs up to MMT.

     

    But, and there is always a but. After I paid, I was sent an offer. I could buy through Swiggy and get a discount. It was very tempting. But the fine print said that the offer was valid only for some NCR restaurants. Here I am booked near Saket. So why would you send me offers for NCR? I know Swiggy can deliver from there. But the delivery time could be more than an hour and the delivery charges will be higher.

     

    So, is this how Swiggy or MMT use their data? They know I am in Saket so why can’t they give me an offer from nearby? I guess all this hype about using data to do targeting is an overblown proposition? Is it?

     

    On the positive side after abandoning Ola, I took up Blu. It was a very good experience. I prebooked cabs twice. Both times the cabs were on time. They were electric cabs so environment friendly. The drivers drove safely and were polite to a fault. The app was very user friendly. It seemed a huge improvement on Ola.

     

    But overall, I was really disappointed. It seems the new age product offerings have actually deteriorated, rather than improving. Oyo is really pits and I guess all these stories about being used mostly by unmarried couples for two hours is true. Is that its business model now? Ola seems to have lost focus completely. My trip was shown as finished without any payment or actually being finished. The driver was lost. And a one hour trip as predicted at the start ended in a two hour trip? And I do hear some pathetic stories about Ola electric scooters too. Quality, service. Is this an Ola trademark now?

     

    These could be exceptions but it shows major flaws in the product. If after 10 year these brands have gone from bad to worse and not improved, then they fail the first test of marketing. Bad product.

     

    And the worst part is that after I abandoned Oyo after one night, even though I had a three-night booking, even though my Ola trip had gone horribly wrong, there was no follow-up. No calls. No feedback mechanism. Both of them asked me to rate them. I gave the worst rating and then there was silence. Don’t they follow up if the rating is 1. Or maybe they cannot, as the number of ratings with least score is way too many. And therein lies a tale.

     

    Vikas Mehta is a senor business strategy consultant and educator based in Dehradun. He writes on MxMIndia every other Monday. His views here are personal.

  • Poonam Pandey & Cervical Cancer: A Case of Generation Gap?

    Poonam Pandey & Cervical Cancer: A Case of Generation Gap?

    With apologies to none at all

    Vikas MehtaBy Vikas Mehta

    Things moved fast last week. On Thursday, February 1, Union finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced in her interim budget speech that the centre is proposing a plan to encourage use of vaccine for preventing cervical cancer amongst girls 9-14 years of age. Cervical cancer is the second-most common cancer in India and almost a fourth of global cervical cancer deaths happen in India. No details of the government scheme were forthcoming but the initiative was lauded and welcomed.

    The very next day, news came in through her media team that controversial and newsmaker model Poonam Pandey had died at the age of 32 of cervical cancer. For me, it sounded too much of a coincidence but social media was trending with the news and there was much shock reaction too.

    Then a day later, Ms Pandey appeared to say that the news of her death due to cervical cancer was part of a campaign to raise awareness of Cervical cancer.

    And yesterday was World Cancer Day.

    All hell broke loose after Ms Pandey’s disclosure. My social media was full of angry friends and acquaintances. Influencer marketing had hit a new low, said someone. Another mentioned Ms Pandey’s past and said that she is not new to controversies. Her act may be for a noble cause but given her past it could cast a shadow on her intent, opinioned another. Someone mentioned that this marketing stunt had crossed all limits. The editor of this portal lamented the death of journalistic good practices as breaking news was more important than checking it out first.

    A digital guru tweeted (or should I say Xed) a google analytical graph that demonstrated that search for Ms Pandey had gone up substantially whereas cervical cancer search was languishing.

    In the meantime, I had posted about this marketing deed on some groups which are solely populated by GenZ and the reaction I got was exactly opposite.

    How clever, said one. Don’t know who she exactly is but she seems to be famous and has used her fame well, chipped in another. Fake news is bad but nothing wrong in using fake news for good was another response I received.

    Sensing a generational gap (me, my friends and acquaintances are all over 50) and also a distinct shift in values and ethics, I challenged GenZ with similar comments as listed above by my generation.

    What I am narrating below are not my views but as generated by GenZ.

    • She didn’t die and willingly gave her name to a cause. What’s wrong in that?
    • We see worse fake news which is actually fake. This was not actually fake.
    • I did not know about cervical cancer and when my mother shared this news with me (of a celebrity dying so young), I found much more about it.
    • She did not kill anyone. She did not hurt anyone. She did not cause a loss or a scam. So how does it matter?
    • She may have gained lot of publicity for herself but it has brought cervical cancer in the news too.
    • Ethics and morality evolve with times. I am told a few decades ago it was not right for a boy and a girl to meet alone. Today it is accepted.
    • My parents want me to get high marks in exams. They don’t bother how. If I cheat and get it, it does not matter. The end result matters. Here too the end result is good.
    • What matters is grabbing attention. Nowadays news portals give sensational headlines which are only half true or in some cases not true at all. Or brands send message that my card is waiting despatch when I haven’t even applied for a card. If they can do so to catch attention then what’s wrong in this stunt?
    • Journalists anyways are all sold out and have no spine. So why expect them to chase the truth or research well before publishing a news (hear hear Mr. Editor!).
    • She seems to be old, but she thinks like us. Maybe I will follow her.
    • She should not have done this as it is inauspicious to fake death was a stray comment. But it was latched on to by 2-3 others and attacked. How can one be so old fashioned and traditional was the refrain. Do not believe in such superstitious things. Don’t you wear black?
    • I never knew that a form of cancer can be prevented with a vaccine. At least now I am aware.

    This last point resonated with me. I have a daughter who is now approaching her twenties and neither me nor my wife had ever heard about the dangers of cervical cancer or its vaccination. As I write this, my wife is talking to our doctor to see if she can be vaccinated.

    Now let me add my two bits to this generational gap issue.

    I do confess that initially I too was dismayed at this whole issue. In fact, because it was Ms Pandey and the news was released by her team and not family had seemed quite odd. But I could never suspect that someone will fake one’s own death unless it was for some subterfuge. So, my morality, traditional thinking and values were shaken.

    But when I heard some of the arguments, I realised that there are worse things happening to be upset by this. And it definitely was for something good. Even though data shows that the cause was a distant second to the influencer at least it had been stirred up. A small technicality too. I don’t think Ms Pandey is an influencer. At best she is a celebrity.

    This episode not just highlighted the generation gap but also reinforced a marketing dictum. Your users may be many but identify your target and talk to them. Don’t forget that this initiative was not Ms Pandey’s. It was initiated by the HPV vaccine and they should be lauded for targeting teenagers to get their attention to the dangers of cervical cancer.

    It also tells me how sharply segmented we are by demographics. News portals and social media like Facebook which are more frequented by the older generation have been quick to criticise Ms Pandey. Issues more relevant to this older generation like ethics, morality, tradition, good old days etc matter more and that dictates their writings and rants. It becomes a closed circle where nothing else matters or exists.

    The GenZ is not too troubled by these attributes. They are more open, not affected by past and more result focused. Some of my generation call GenZ instant gratification generation, but I think that’s unfair. They live in the present because they have no history to dwell upon. And with the rapid technology evolution, history becomes historical rapidly.

    Let’s not forget that brands have in the past also used half news or fake news to create sensation and frenzy. As a friend reminded me, Taj Mahal tea ran a PR campaign in the 2000s announcing that Ustad Zakir Hussain, who was the brand endorser, had decided to stop playing tabla. There was lot of frenzy and health speculation until it was revealed that it was a challenge, wherein the Ustad had announced ‘find me a better tea and I will stop playing tabla’.

    Wasn’t this also spreading fake news? Distorted news? So how was that acceptable? For, last I heard that became a case study on how to do good PR. How come Ms Poonam’s case was going to an extreme and falling to a new low? Or her past will shadow the noble deed? Or was it just because Poonam Pandey was used and not a “more respected celebrity”.

    Come to think of it, this campaign (that’s what I will call it from now, not a stunt) was about shock value but maybe it will also fall into the awe category.

  • The day could have been a lot more than moment marketing by brands, writes Vikas Mehta

    Ram Mandir Consecration: Opportunities drowned in Moment Marketing?

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaJanuary 22, 2024, I guess, will become a watershed day in the Indian history. It was a culmination of a well-orchestrated movement led by the state and I think it may become a celebrated case study in marketing too. But my article today is not about the temple consecration or how it became a marketing case, lest I be accused of sacrilege, it is about how brands did or did not latch onto this moment marketing occasion. And as I live in Dehradun, close to the heartland of the temple movement, I shall look at it from this viewpoint.

     

    I take back my words. This was not a moment marketing case. It could have been an opportunity to take the whole occasion as an opportunity and drive maybe even a long-term marketing campaign for a brand. But, unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Brands and companies by sheer shortsightedness turned it into just moment marketing.

     

    Ok, I take back this also. As the first thing that I noticed was that very few national level brands did anything at all. There were some lame or limp attempts at moment marketing by the likes of Kirloskar, Dabur Amla, Dabur Gulabari, JK Cements, SpiceJet and Amul. These were the only national brands that were visible to me. Dabur Gulabari was the one brand which used some brand properties and kept it strictly related to the temple. SpiceJet used the occasion to give some discounts and freebies along with the schedule of Ayodhya flights. But the rest were just about cautious congratulatory messages. As I said limping moment marketing.

     

    It was local brands that ruled the roost. On the day, Dainik Jagran had two newspapers. One was a regular newspaper with some news in between a plethora of local ads. Sadly, even these were forgettable. But what was interesting was one the diversity of categories. From food masalas to construction companies to personal product companies to local fashion brands to local politicians to two-wheeler dealers to local cooking oils to local dairy and sweets brands to local jewellers to local event management companies to pan masala to resorts to medical centres and even local grocery stores. Some educational institutes, hearing aid centres, and local construction material retailers and brands added to the confusion. In my estimate, the news was maybe 45% and the ads took up rest of the space.

     

    The second newspaper was full of various articles on the temple. Historic angle, legal angle, the development in the city of Ayodhya… all of this was highlighted. And this was also full of ads as well, though maybe the ratio (of ads to editorial content) was more equal.

     

    A few weeks ago, a news portal had asked me to predict about what brands will do around the consecration ceremony. And my first instinctive reaction was that they will play it safe. Most brands will not do anything. Some will pay lip-service and a few who may have been involved with the construction of the temple may talk about their contribution. It looks I was correct in my initial thinking. Though I found it quite puzzling why brands which contributed to the building of the temple kept quiet. Initially I though JK Cement had contributed to the structure. But they did not mention it in their ad and I also read somewhere that no cement has been used in the construction. They too had just a congratulatory message.

     

    Why did most brands stay away? Because religion being a divisive subject, brands did not want to seen to be taking sides. And MNC, global brands are worried about repercussions in other markets too. That’s the main reason which explains the total absence of multinational or foreign brands. They did not want to alienate certain sections of the society and the world. Therefore, the few national brands that did advertise were Indian origin brands and some like Kirloskar did play up its Indianness. So, nationalism was the message. But that still does not explain the absence of many brands who have almost positioned themselves on nationalism. Kajaria Tiles, for example.

     

    Patanjali was the other brand which has for long played the nationalism card. Surprisingly, they were very low key. One press ad which looked like a 3-in-1 did appear. It spoke about an offer. About Ayurveda. And then some resolutions to take on this auspicious occasion. The last point was just about nationalism, whereas in my mind it could have been about some healthy resolutions combining the occasion and Ayurveda.

     

    The local brands had nothing to lose. Most of the brands who advertised, hardly advertise. So, this was a one-off which they could afford. Interestingly, the messages were quite brazen. Many of the ads had big mugshots of the owners. For once, some two-wheeler dealers found an opportunity to put their mugshots along with the product photo. Ditto for real estate developers, medical centre owners, dairy and sweet centre owners, construction material dealers. It was an opportunity to show themselves as Ram Bhakts. And I think that was the most important point for them. Announcing to the society and their circle of acquaintances about their religious and I suspect, even political beliefs.

     

    There was a local brand for sanitary napkins and diapers, which also advertised. Would any national or MNC brand have the guts to associate an ostensibly (unfairly labelled) unclean product with Mandir?

     

    Take Bahubali Pan Masala, and the brand is not about a surrogate. It openly says masala in the headline, very cleverly almost like a rhyme and has incorporated its brand name in it. Ayodhya ki galli and Bahubali. Shyam Steel has a prominent photo of Virat Kohli and Anushka with hands folded juxtaposed with a shot of the temple.

     

    And then there was one jeweller, based out of Bengaluru who had a full-page ad selling a model of Ram Mandir made in 22k gold weighing 1795 grams, studded with precious stones. The brand spoke about its 70 years of legacy and also had a mug shot of its owner with folded hands. Want more information and want to order? A QR code was provided. Religion, commerce and technology… a heady mix.

     

    In all this hullabaloo, there was another twist in the story. Republic Day was just four days later. And this is the time when durables, online stores, supermarkets etc have sale offers. And the advertising for the same starts a week before. Some of them tried gamely on Jan 22 too. But they were drowned out in the cacophony of the mandir ads. In fact, I don’t see many more brands or offers coming our way around Jan 26 as brands know that consumers have spent money for the Ram Mandir event. Every society, every mohallah, every market had some ceremony or an event or even bhandaras (free food). And it was all organised on the back of donations. People spent on bhagwa (saffron)-coloured clothes, flags, lights, diyas and crackers. Everyone contributed something somewhere. So, I guess Republic Day sales will be muted.

     

    Yes, I am being critical of brands. So, what more could they have done? For starters, they should not have looked at this as moment marketing. They should have seen this as maybe a property to associate with and organised activities around it. CSR? Offers and discounts to spur sales and not just to pay lip-service?  And do it according to the category and brand values. Patanjali could have set up shop at the railway stations, airports and bus stations and given wellness or Ayurveda products at good reduced rates while offering a loyalty programme. And rather than dress up the crew as Ramayan characters and earn derision, Indigo could have offered substantial discounts to all senior citizens travelling during a time period. Maybe tie up with some old age homes and offer few free seats per flights. Haldiram could have organised free bhandaras….

     

    The problem was that big national brands saw this as an aberration. A one-off. I think they have not realised that this day will be celebrated every year. Not just in a religious sense but also in a nationalistic and political sense. If the brands had looked at it through a long-term prism, they could have not only done more but also gained empathy and set the cash tills ringing. Let’s not forget that big brands including some MNC brands have thrived during Kumbh Melas. But this time they lost out on the big picture. The small brands did not see the big picture but they saw this as an opportunity to loosen the purse strings a bit and proudly proclaim their arrival.

     

    Frankly, moment marketing became the Achilles Heel for brands.

     

    Vikas Mehta is a Dehradun-based business strategist and educator. He writes on MxMIndia every other Monday, but sometimes on other days as well. His views here are personal.

     

  • The NEP will help but it is work in progress and will not help current graduates and undergraduates, writes Vikas Mehta

    Vikas Mehta: Time to reset education

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaI am a father of a daughter who pursued humanities and now wants to combine her passion for sports (she plays tennis, football and follows cricket) and communication with a career in sports journalism. Further, she has a flair for sketching and I thought that the three ingredients will make a deadly concoction which will help her to carve out a career which she will not only embrace but also be fruitful.

     

    Note the use of the word “thought” and not “think”. Because in the last one year, I am struggling to understand how fast the world is changing. I have written in some of my past posts that I am associated with some postgraduate courses and also screen MBA candidates. This has helped me understand the changes in the world of education also from close quarters. I am now very worried, both as a father of an aspiring journalist and as an educator for the skills of today’s generation.

     

    And the one factor that has caused this upheaval is artificial intelligence, AI.

    I think the early adapters of AI, besides the technologist and innovators have been students. Till now, Google was the equivalent of Goddess Saraswati for them, a huge store of knowledge which would dissipate information at the click of a key, Google became a teacher by default, specially during the pandemic. But, it was still all about information and knowledge. AI has taken it a step further. It now fulfills the role of a creator. Maybe its like God Brahma. But unfortunately, what it is doing is akin to Lord Shiva, the destroyer. And unfortunately, the students are not realising or understanding it.

     

    You have to submit an assignment? Chill. Chat GPT will do it. Need data dissertation? Use Kyndryl. Write an application to a University or write an SOP, I don’t even need to tell you which AI tools to choose from.  And now even if you have to crack a case study, study.corgi.com has a case study analysis generator.

     

    So, why am I calling them as destroyers? Simply because it has made the students lazy and they don’t learn anything. Sure, they get good grades but have they added to their skills? Are they now industry ready?

     

    You may say that the fault lies not with the students but with our examination or grading system. Grades count. So, the students main aim is to score marks. Game the system. Partially true. Because even if we remove exams or grades and just ask for submissions and give them just a genuine feedback, the students will still use the tools because they pander to the basic human habit of being lazy.

     

    Education institutes have reacted typically. With penalties. Some first tried banning AI tools. Then came plagiarism or AI tool detector software. And then institutions allowed a certain percentage of the report or submission to be AI generated. Ok, so, you are submitting a report on how the Ukraine Russia war helped the Indian economy? Only 15% of your report should be AI generated. Who decides the 15%? The detecting software. So, what is the message we are giving the students?

     

    We caught you cheating. Now you will be punished. Copying has been a bane of the Indian education system. Harsh punishments were devised. But did it stop students from cheating? No. So, with the advent of AI what we have done is that we have made AI the new cheating hero and the new grading villain. And we are inventing new software to stop them from cheating. We are just continuing the cat and mouse game.

     

    What then is the solution? I have always believed that the best solution is to do away with any type of exam, grading or ranking. Teach. Then discuss. Then try some real life case as problems and try to crack it. And no, this is not a solution for MBA but also for schools. Let me explain with one example.

     

    Today, many a times, UG students are unable to explain the meaning of their percentage score. If they have secured 80% marks, they cannot explain it except for telling the formula used to arrive at it. But they do not understand that 80% means that if the total marks were 100 then one scored 80. Or ask an intermediate science student to give an example of Newton’s third law, mostly they will give an example from their text book. If you throw a ball at the wall……. Ask them from one more and they struggle.

     

    But what if they are explained these concepts with examples. They understand its importance and its usage. How to use a formula is not even required. Because your phones or calculators do that. So why waste time and effort in the calculations and based on that grade them or rank them? Instead teach and then discuss. Discuss real life instances. Discuss exceptions. Discuss deviations.

     

    Use AI to break down concepts. Use AI to understand a complicated concept by asking the tool to simplify it or by giving an analogy. Use AI tools to discuss different scenarios. Make AI the hero. Not the villain. Make AI your ally in a positive way. Can’t beat it? Join it. That way the students will learn more and find studying interesting too.

     

    Sure, in some areas you still may need some exams. But the exam system has anyways produced mass of underskilled students. Why not try something different? From the school stage itself.

     

    So, is the use of AI what worries me about my daughter’s future? Yes and No. Definitely AI is a threat in taking away jobs and making human redundant. But no, because the way we have siloed even education into humanities, commerce and science means that humanities and commerce student shy away from AI.

     

    “I hate maths or numbers” is the most common refrain from humanities students. The point is they don’t hate numbers. They hate the way it is taught. So, if one removes exams and just teach, discuss and relate it to real life, there will be less hate type of statements. There will be more acceptance of science and technology even amongst the humanities or commerce inclined.

     

    And that should be the ultimate objective. Get everyone to learn some technology. Don’t ghettoise or silofy it. Doing this from the ground level in school will help. But there is a huge chunk of students today who need indoctrination in technology. The challenge is to bring this already mature, already set, already decided student to accept and try and learn bit of technology.

     

    So, can we reset now? The NEP will help but it is work in progress and will not help current graduates and undergraduates. Education institutions need to start looking at and address this issue first.

     

    Is there any education institute which will take up the challenge to make science, AI type of subject more acceptable to my daughter?

     

  • Indigo did not understand that there is a thin line between professionalism and lack of empathy, writes Vikas Mehta

    Arrogance of a leader

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaI write this column from 30,000 plus feet in the air while travelling on an Indigo flight. This is my seventh Indigo flight in the past four months and almost every flight has convinced me that Indigo is a classic example of a brand leader which has taken its leadership for granted.

     

    Sure, in the initial stages of growth, the brand did all the right things. It had a relevant product. Its pricing was just right and it invested in good systems and processes. Its brand communication, personality and its touchpoints with its customers were consistently on the mark. It was a professional approach and was marked by learning and taking on board international practices too.

     

    It also was one of the few brands which handled its growth well. Its on-time performance and a no frills experience never took a back seat. But then hubris set in

     

    The brand did not understand that there is a thin line between professionalism and lack of empathy. There has been enough talk in media of cases where Indigo staff did not show empathy for passengers with disability or were rude while dealing with consumer complaints at the airport, but let me share two-three small examples to highlight the lack of empathy.

     

    My current flight was delayed by 90 minutes. I have a connecting flight to catch in 150 minutes. Since the PNR was different, Srinagar could not check my bags through and through. So, I had to deplane, collect my bags and check in again. With check-in closing 45 minutes before departure, it would’ve been an impossible task. And the delay messages came only after I had cleared security. I contacted Indigo on Twitter, with a DM as well. An apologetic response came after well over an hour. I tried the AI assistant who couldn’t help and asked me to call helpline or get in touch with ground staff. I called helpline, which spent two minutes through an automated message to convince me to go to the AI assistant! Finally, I was connected with a customer service rep after eight minutes. She was also helpless as she said that I can book you onto a later flight only if the flight is delayed by two hours not if it’s late by 90 minutes.

     

    In frustration, I contacted the ground staff. They were warm and courteous, a very Kashmiri trait and assured to help out. After going through three ground staff members, one rescheduled my connecting flight to a later flight. No two-hour rule now? But I don’t care. I am a bit relieved. But frustrated as hell about this 2 hour delay rule. The empathy shown by the ground staff was not only rare but a very cultural and personal trait. And yes, one of the ground staff also assured me at boarding that my bags (he had taken screen shot of my baggage tags) will be delivered on priority basis. More on that later.

     

    While flying to Srinagar, with a slightly sore throat, I had prebooked a meal. It included a beverage. I asked for a hot one. But was first informed that no hot beverages were served on this sector. I immediately showed them the fine print in their menu which said that hot beverages were served on flights longer than 60 minutes. This was a 75-minute flight. Then she switched to the excuse that as the seat belt sign was on the rule prevents them from serving hot beverage. Yes, the seat belt sign was on, in fact it was never switched off after take off and I do understand that serving hot beverage may cause inconvenience to the passenger. But, there was no turbulence and passengers were not being stopped from going to the toilets or move around.

     

    When I refused to have a cold beverage due to my sore throat and insisted that either I get a hot beverage or no beverage and that I intend to question on why was there an inconsistency in applying rules for ‘seat belt on’ sign, the stewardess promptly went to the galley and got, not just me but another passenger the hot beverage. Why could she not show a little empathy? Professionalism demands that you do not serve hot beverage when seat belt sign is on. But it also demands that you apply it consistently. Why, even the food service should have been stopped. But then that would have meant loss of revenue as refunds would have come into play.

     

    Exactly the same story was played out in this trip too. First, the story about no hot beverage. Then about no seat belts and then that they are not carrying coffee. I spoke to the senior stewardess and said that the same story being repeated twice is not a mistake but a deliberate attempt to avoid service and I intend to complain. At that stage, she was apologetic and offered to placate me with some nuts or a cookie jar which I promptly refuse. Clearly, the airlines is taking advantage of the flier ignorance and throwing arrogant rules which is contrary to their own rules. And for that to happen twice is arrogance.

     

    And the fact that revenue is more important than empathy was further highlighted when at Coimbatore airport the same airline changed its departure gate four times in 15 minutes. We were first informed that the boarding will be from ground floor, then made to climb up, then come down and then move to an adjoining gate. All this was happening with announcements over the PA systems with no Indigo staff at hand to ensure that escalators or lift were working, specially for the aged. Finally, I called for the duty incharge. I had to do some name dropping before I got some explanations. He said that the gate was changed as the incoming flight was slightly delayed and another airline was scheduled to take the ground floor gate. But as that airline completed boarding fast and the Indigo flight had not yet landed they reverted to the original gate as the first floor gate was aero bridge which would mean longer de boarding and boarding time and subsequently a delay. So, empathy was dumped and the airline shuffled its passengers around. To keep its on-time record perfect, under the guise of professionalism, the airline became arrogant vis a vis its customers. Oh, you ask why the fourth change? Because, the ground staff had not informed the security who had locked the gate and gone away. So, again empathy was dammed.

     

    I am not going to bore you with more examples, but you get the drift. So, why do I continue with Indigo is the next question? And the answer is the reason why this market leader brand has become arrogant. I have no choice. Air India has hardly any good connections or scheduling choices. Go First is dead. SpiceJet is limping. And Indigo knows that. So, it’s become arrogant. And that’s a pity. Because the day I have alternative, I will dump Indigo. And so will many others.

     

    The link between being professional and being empathetic is very strong. For that you have to empower your employees. Their KRAs have to include empathy demonstration, specially when you are in customer facing role. If I am staying at the Taj, not any 5 star hotel but the Taj, and my toothpaste or shaving cream, which I am carrying is running out, the employee actually replaces it, with a sweet note. She gets the same brand, without my telling her or asking her, in fact without even meeting and it’s quietly replaced. So, that one empathetic gesture allows me to forgive some mistakes. And she has done it because she is empowered to do so. Similarly, when I complain to Amazon about late delivery or wrong delivery of an order the CS executive issues on the spot refund. That’s empathy because the employee is empowered.

     

    Maybe Indigo has streamlined empathy also. So, if fasten seat belt sign is on, do the food service. Allow the passengers to go to the toilet. But no serving hot beverage. Or has it empowered the stewardess to take the decision? For Airlines, definitely safety is the first criteria but does it make empathy its second criteria?.

     

    Or it is all just about streamlining and standard operating procedures, leading to arrogance. This one lady at Srinagar airport showed empathy. But it was her. Not as a rule but as an exception.  Indigo needs to build on its market leadership opportunity with empathy and consistency not arrogance or profit oriented empathy. Else remember the Taj example. Indigo will give an opportunity to someone like Air India, which has had a reputation for empathy, to sneak in.

     

    And, yes, my bags that were promised to be delivered on a priority basis? They came last. I am not joking. The last two bags on the belt were mine. Arrogance for asking to be helped out? You decide.

     

    Vikas Mehta is a Dehradun-based business strategy consultant and educator. He writes on MxMIndia every other Monday. His views here are personal.

     

  • While it may be ok to lump a UP, MP, Bihar etc, the same does not hold good by clubbing the southern states, writes Vikas Mehta

    The South South divide

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaLast few years I have spent a considerable amount of my time visiting business schools in South India. In cities like Hyderabad and Coimbatore, I had the opportunity to interact with thousands of Gen Z students. And, because I always stayed on the campus for any time between one to three weeks at a stretch, it also gave me an opportunity to mix and interact with students as humans. I have also been involved in interviewing MBA candidates and as such I have gleaned some interesting information and, dare I say, insights into Gen Z and their families from South India.

     

    We have always talked about the North-South divide in India. The difference is in almost everything. Appearance, food habits, culture, religiosity, politics, language. It’s almost as if India has two types of people, the northeners and the southerners. While it may be ok to lump the states of UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, HP and MP together as there are lot of similarities; linguistically, food-wise, religiously and even culturally, the same does not hold good by lumping all south states together as one. I am not saying that northern states are similar in all aspects but they have a commonality that runs through. The same is not the case in the southern states. And the dissimilarities start with language which are very different in not just oral but also in script. But let’s avoid the obvious dissimilarities and try to focus on some not so obvious.

     

    My inferences cover the four states, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh (AP), Tamil Nadu (TN) and Kerala as Hyderabad is a magnet for Gen Z for not just jobs but also for education from all southern states and Coimbatore being close to Kerala, attracts Gen Z talent due to its educational institutes and textile industry.

     

    Before, I talk about the divide, one similarity which I saw across the states was that almost like in north, most state students are not too fluent in English. The common perception is that since they do not know Hindi, their English should be good. But they think in their own language and then try to translate the thought in their mind. So, these Gen Z know English but are not comfortable expressing themselves in english.

     

    The first thing that surprised me was the number of parents of Gen Z who were self-employed. And this was very true for AP. We think that Gujaratis and Marwaris from Rajasthan have a flair for business in India and most traditional business houses reflect that. Birlas, Tatas, Goenkas, Mahindra, Bajaj, Ambani et al are all from Gujarat or Rajasthan. And then who has not heard of the Patels and Shahs and Jains and Solankis into some business or trade. In the US, Patel motels is almost used as a generic term for inexpensive highway hotels.

     

    But the Reddys and the Rajus and the Raos and the Naidus are catching up. Look up who owns the GMR and GVK conglomerates. Which state has the largest number of fish farms? Gujarat exports the most seafood from the country and is also the largest marine exporter. But that is because most of its produce comes from the fish farms of AP besides its fresh catch. Andhra has a long coastline but the business acumen of its inhabitants has turned aqua farming into a huge export business.

     

    With the bifurcation of AP and Telangana, and the consequent need for land to set up government and administrative offices and also residences, land prices in both states have shot up. Consequently, both states have reaped many entrepreneurs dealing in property and construction. AP is also very rich in certain mineral reserves like bauxite, limestone, mica, asbestos and even iron ore. Granite is another mineral which is mined and exported from AP. All this has spawned a huge wave of entrepreneurs, from mine-owners to dealers to traders to exporters and to retailers.

     

    There is a big number of private moneylenders too. They lend money at exorbitant rates to a small circle which grows only by introduction. Usually, these money lenders thrive when there is some economic crisis and currently with RBI tightening the lending conditions, and  even NBFCs and fintech companies shying from small ticket personal loans these lenders are the lenders of last resort. A business which reflects the thin line between legal and illegal. A business which the Gen Z children do not either approve of or do not want to continue.

     

    The spirit of entrepreneurship has also caught up with much of the Gen Z. They want to not just take over the business but also diversify. And the presence of Hyderabad city as a cyber-hub has spurred many Gen Z into startups. Many MBA students or aspirants from a business background want to use the opportunity of grabbing a job in IT companies as a starting point to gain experience and maybe save some money. But three to five years down the line, the entrepreneurship bug catches on. Traditional family businesses are diversifying, automating or venturing into totally unrelated areas.

     

    This also has caused a conflict. The Gen Z entrepreneurs are more risk-taking. They don’t mind getting into capex with loans. Many into the food and service industry are finding the franchise model to be lucrative. All this does not go well with the elder generation. Though they are steeped in risk-taking, they still are not sure of growing too fast too wide. As a result, the spirit of rebellion or charting their own course is strongly manifested in the Gen Z thinking in AP and now also in Telangana.

     

    Another very interesting aspect in both AP and Telangana is that they send the highest number of PG and B Tech students to the US. While this may be attributed to the flourishing self-employed businessmen who can afford to pay hefty fees in the US, it also points to another interesting trend. The AP and Telangana students are worldly-wise and well-informed.

     

    It’s almost as if the internet revolution and the emergence of Hyderabad as a cyber-capital has spurred on a new internet culture. Gen Z is not only well-informed but also less traditional. They question rituals and traditions are not scared to question authority, The reverence towards elders, religious men, professors etc which spawned a no-questions-asked culture seems to be disappearing.

     

    And this is amplified when one compares to Gen Z from the state of Tamil Nadu. The generation is still steeped in tradition. Every year, I find students who follow the 41-day spartan living called manadalam before undertaking the Sabarimala climb. Being barefoot, eating non-spicy food, wearing black or blue veshti is followed even in classrooms. I am not criticising or calling it out. Just saying how it is prevalent as compared to Telangana where a visit to Tirupati temple is no more a must for Gen Z.

     

    What is more interesting however is the acceptance of the rituals without any questions asked. I always ask the students the significance of 41 days or why is fasting required? Their answers or the lack of them show an absolute respect to authority, with no questions asked. I get the same attitude in my classes. Questions are asked but not debated. The respect for authority, restrains the mind which can explore much more.

     

    Interestingly, I find the global effect in the food habits of Gen Z from AP and Telangana. Their cuisine tastes go beyond the local. So, a biryani or kebab or the chilli in food is loved in Hyderabad but a burger or a pizza or a salad is a part of the menu on the campus. In a Coimbatore campus, the traditional food still matters. There is non-vegetarian but hardly any fast food or salad types. And when I ask Gen Z students about burgers or [izzas, the answers are muted. Maybe even here, what the authority say is what matters.

     

    Tamil Nadu Gen Z is risk-averse. Most students are looking for jobs. Entrepreneurship is not something that they want. Maybe do some consultancy later on but not setting up industry or get into production. They seem to have moved somewhat away from the lure of a permanent government job to a result-oriented and more rewarding private sector. But the ultimate leap of entrepreneurship is still not burning strong as in AP student.

     

    The students from Kerala are very similar to Tamil Nadu. Except they are also well-exposed to the world. And I suspect that is so because of the high population of NRIs in Kerala. They may be white collar offsprings but the advancement in the Middle East is something they are aware of. Their exposure to global knowledge makes them maybe more inquisitive. Yet, not many are inclined to go abroad to work. About a decade ago, when I was in the Middle East, I would interact with many Keralites whose one dream would be to get their children get a job in the tax-free countries of the Middle East. But I am surprised that most of the Gen Z that I have come across from Kerala are not inclined to do so. They believe that the future in the country is bright and they aspire to do something on their own.

     

    So, while Gen Z who belong to the flourishing self-employed business families of AP aspire to go to US and do their Masters (and settle down there), the Gen Z of families from Kerala who are working in the Middle East do not want to go abroad to settle down. The divide could not be starker.

     

  • In some categories, a brand can have almost 10% of its total annual sales from the Canteen Stores Department, writes Vikas Mehta

    How and why defence personnel families have different consumer behaviour traits

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaI shall be soon completing 10 years, living in the small, yet cosmopolitan and progressive, yet steeped in tradition and eclectic, and yet distinct city of Dehradun. And while the transition and experience has been both interesting and challenging, I am amazed at how I keep on discovering new facets of not just culture and tradition but also consumer behaviour. In this column, I will try and touch on a few of these points.

     

    Dehradun was always known as the city of retired people. Slow, sedentary lifestyle. Nature at every step and the ability to lose oneself in its myriad seasons. Institutions like ONGC, FRI, Geological Survey of India are steeped in history and even folklore. And many of its employees, hailing from all parts of India, settled down in the city, post retirement. Indeed, such was the case with my father too.

     

    But Dehradun is better known for its retired population of defence people. From Lt Generals to Brigadiers to Majors and to Captains. It’s not just the army people but even the other wings. As an aside, do you know that Dehradun also has a naval office? The Indian Naval Hydrographic Department.

     

    But I am digressing. It’s not just the retired defence people who stay in Doon. There is also a decent population of currently serving defence personnel whose families live in Doon. With frequent transfers, posting to non-family stations, most families prefer settling down at one place, mostly because of children’s education. And Doon with its plethora of schools, proximity to border areas, bustling cantonment life, and medical hospital for defence people is an ideal place.

     

    During my morning walks I would come across retired defence people. Mostly they would stand out because of the typical stick, not walking stick, but the small stick of a commanding officer that one would see in many Hindi films, and their gait and posture. I would interact a bit and over a period of time got to know a few of them and their families including some serving ones. I am not professing to be an expert on defence people as consumers but I encountered some interesting behaviour and insights which I would like to share.

     

    Living in cantonment areas in small towns and sometimes in far flung places is a unique experience. One is living in a secluded township which has its own rules. The life is steeped in discipline and protocols. And this includes the lives of families too. Seniority matters in family relationships too. There are formal and informal occasions with dressing according to the occasion. Life is regimented and strictly routine. And almost all purchase happens from the canteen stores.

     

    I am sure most of us have heard of how defence personnel and their families get groceries etc at discounted rates at canteen stores. Today, it’s not just groceries but almost anything that a household wishes to buy, is available at canteen stores. Not just durables like ACs or refrigerators but also two-wheelers and four-wheelers. At subsidised rates. A defence person can buy a car at a subsidised rate every 8 years and a two-wheeler every four years.

     

    For a brand it therefore becomes imperative that they register to sell through canteen store department and in some categories like fans a brand could have almost 10% of its total annual sale coming through canteen stores department (CSD). Even premium brands like BMW and Audi sell through CSD. And it was news when Kia was made available through CSD earlier this year. I also gathered that defence people get a 50% discount on GST to be paid on vehicles. Though some capping on the above is in place now.

     

    If you now look at it from the viewpoint of serving and retired defence personnel, CSD is an important part of their life. Except for a few perishables like milk or bread, almost everything they buy is through CSD. And the distance from a CSD is an important consideration when they are settling down or renting property in a place. Indeed, when the defence person comes home on leave from his posting a visit to CSD for a major purchase or a big ticket item purchase is always on the agenda. Their visit to a local grocery store or an electronic store is very limited. Even elements like servicing or repair are handled through CSD. And CSD has kept pace with time. If something is not available at the nearest CSD, one can order it through the online site of CSD, for delivery.

     

    Therefore, if an FMCG brand or a durable or an electronic brand is not present at a CSD, it is not in the consideration mindset of most defence people. They have not seen it. They have not discussed it. They have not felt the need to know about it. This hurts new brands and new categories more. They may be exposed to something new through some media but the familiarity and interest comes through CSD, offline or online. The bottomline is that a brand, to make a difference in the life of a defence person must be a part of CSD.

     

    And this is more important when these families are placed in remote areas. Their exposure is limited to CSD only. This has a ramification for brands. Because, later on in life when these people move on to bigger cities the perception and awareness that has been built in their minds about brands persist. CSD therefore has created impressions and perceptions which can last for life.

     

    Sometimes, this also leads to family conflicts. The younger generation which is more technology oriented is more aware and knowledgeable about brands, their benefits, their cool quotient etc. So, they try to look beyond the CSD brands or their impressions for personal use. The parents are at odds with such thoughts. They cannot reconcile to the same. Also, the discounts that CSD offers goes a long way in their decision making.

     

    Moving beyond CSD, defence personnel face a dilemma and social unease when they get back into society. The career path of a defence person is shorter than the civilians. Most at the level of Major or Colonel retire between 50-54 years. For most of their life they have lived a regimented, disciplined and structured life. They are taught working in a team. They live unselfishly. Sacrifice of personal needs and comfort is part of their upbringing. And yet, when they get back into general society they see indiscipline. They encounter selfishness. They are not trained to do anything else. They try alternate career and find it difficult to fit.

     

    To make matters worse, families face different problems in amalgamation. With an unregimented society they find issues of adjustment. Their time discipline and selflessness goes unappreciated. And children find themselves woefully inadequate in terms of new type of hobbies or sports. One of them asked my daughter what was Sushi when she said she had it for dinner. Examples of this kind create a divide amongst children and gives an inferiority complex to the defence force children.

     

    These adjustment issues sometimes force defence people to live in their own enclaves. That in turn makes the “civilians” a bit more wary of the defence types. It’s a lose lose situation for both as the defence people dig their heels in and refuse to accept the reality of the bigger world and the civilian see them as snobbish and entitled (CSD adds to it).

     

    Surprisingly, it’s the children  who finally integrate better. They go to schools and education institutes where they rub shoulders with all types and they learn to adjust. But this also means that they compromise on their “defence values” like discipline or regimented life. Within the family the clash of generation ensues. The children are quickly enticed by the lure of new products, new services and consumption. They look at their parent’s choice of career vs their new found friends parents and the grass seems greener on the other side. And that’s one of the reasons that unlike in the past, many defence children no longer want to pursue defence as a career option.

     

    It’s such simple observations that have ensured that I still keep learning new things. Here is to the next ten years of learning in this quaint little town called Doon.

     

     

  • Not that the ads were very interesting, writes Vikas Mehta… they competed with the matches to fight for the boredom crown!

    Men’s World Cup Cricket ad review – Zara Hatke

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaInspired by some memes and posts of ads that appeared during the World Cup Cricket, my ‘hatke’ take on the same.

     

    It’s not just us Indians who are proud of our culture. The Aussies were offended by the use of ‘fork’, the two fingered sign with the palm-facing inward, common in Australia as a slur, which the Bollywood stars used in the Vimal elaichi ad. The Aussies were infuriated.  How dare these stars pass off something insulting, as something acceptable? And that my readers is the simple answer as to why we were outplayed by the Aussies in the final.

     

    Can’t afford medical insurance premiums? No problems. Just yank away the plaster from your hand or simply walk away while still in your surgery gown and attached to the drip. Don’t believe me? Oh! I forgot to give you an alternative solution. Simply pay your premiums every month via PhonePay.

     

    Talking about PhonePe, if you cannot digest big payments use PhonePe lite. It’s as lite as not having to remember your PIN.

     

    Now we know the secret of how children playing badminton, can become champions. By playing alone at night on mud courts with Polycab cables lighting up the place.

     

    It’s only the older, retired, mature cricketers who can handle Kamla Pasand. Or maybe Kamla Pasand can afford them only.

     

    You thought Danube is a river? Naah! It’s a builder in Dubai.

     

    Never go to buy a mixer grinder with your wife. Unless you only want Sujata mixer

     

    If I follow Dream 11 philosophy, Indian players did not lift the World Cup as they did not do some heavy lifting. Literally. I didn’t say it. Rishabh Pant said that.

     

    Hardik could not recover from his injury as he did some strenuous shots for Jindal Panther ad which dominated the airwaves even after he retired hurt, out of the tournament.

     

    Dhoni is no more in demand as Indigo paint is a better crowd puller

     

    The Thums Up toofan did not blow away the doubts in the mind of Rohit, Bumrah, Siraj & Jadeja but the Toofan worked for SRK.

     

    Lays wanted us to stock up on the brand as Dhoni drops in to random homes to see the match, with the condition that Lays is available at those homes. I mean, Dhoni cannot afford a TV?

     

    Kit Kat fingers crossed was inspired by Rohit Sharma’s wife’s screen presence.

     

    Rahul Dravid was more dependable for MAK lubricant than for team India.

     

    The Aussies were definitely watching the world cup ads. Maybe they wanted some endorsement deals! But they took the Sprite ads very seriously. The team was Thand Rakh personified.

     

    Nobody takes Oreo seriously. They had said mat bol. And, we took for granted that the world cup is ours!

     

    Fog is a storm, not perfume.

    And even dogs sulk when they hear nationalistic spiel in such ads.

     

    Lendingkart hai toh business is good. So, no need for business schools churning out MBAs?

     

    Maybe, Lenskart didn’t give SKY the correct lens.

     

    Snickers made a noobie mistake in trying to link the brand to cricket. Err! What’s a noobie mistake, please?

     

    Good for Amul that neither SA or SL or Afghanistan defeated India. Else nationalists would have had to butter their toast with some other brand.

     

    It seems PC Chandra Jewellers is in property business too as it advises us to own a piece of Calcutta. No Kolkata baiters?

     

    Size is important for Ranvir Singh. Sorry, I mean Royal Stag. Actually, just make it large.

     

    And Dettol soap also wants us to believe the same.

     

    For Neena Gupta foreign sounding exotic names matter. No am not talking about her partner or daughter. Just look at her choice for Electronic scooters.  So, what if one cannot remember or pronounce it.

     

    Mahindra SUVs have set a very high benchmark for their breaks. If your father in law comes in front it stops. Is that why the foreign sounding protagonist looked displeased? Or because  they did not want to show an Indian son law symbolising stereotypical, son in law, father in law relationship? How very correct!

     

    And suddenly many automobiles ads are also paying lip service to women power. All being driven by women. What’s the desired response? Women have arrived? Safe driving? Women handling power? Naah! It’s just a tick box.

     

    Tide is only about colour? Not Whites? By default therefore is Ariel about whites only?

     

    Surf Excel Matic liquid is about mummy getting angry about stains. And I thought Surf Excel stood for stains are good.

     

    I had fun doing these as watching the ads seemed to be a better idea than watching all those boring one-sided matches. Not that the ads were very interesting. They competed with the matches to fight for the boredom crown. But at least I could look at their brighter side.

     

    If you have some more interesting takes on the ads telecast during the World Cup, write into the comments column.

     

    Vikas Mehta is a senior marketing and business strategist based in Dehradun. He writes on MxMIndia every other Monday. His views here are personal.

     

  • Many D2C brands have now realised the need to do brand-building, notes Vikas Mehta

    From D2C to Omnichannel

     

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaLast week, Unilever sold off its D2C brand Dollar Shave Club to a private equity firm. This was quite a shocker, something that made me think away from the Cricket World Cup. There had been lot of media hype when Unilever bought the brand six-seven years ago for reportedly a billion dollars. It was a vindication of sort that direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands had arrived and maybe traditional brands were under threat. A lot was being made about the Millennials and Gen Z preferring new D2C brands. And the pandemic gave the D2C brands a bigger boost. Enough entrepreneurs started using social media platforms to peddle their wares directly to the consumers. From clothes to chocolates to baked food to homemade beauty products to accessories to collectibles, D2C was the buzzword.

     

    And this was not limited to first time entrepreneurs working from home. In fact as a business model, it had started catching on since early last decade. Most of these like Nykaa, Mamaearth, Zivame, Bombay Shaving Company, Chumbak or even Pepper Fry, Lenskart, BoAt, Licious had used the online boom smartly. And some of them have even had successful IPOs. India is estimated to have more than 600 D2C brands with a market size of about $ 65-70bn in 2023. Not numbers to sneeze at. And, this was of course fueled by the fact that around 600 million Indians have access to internet with 185 million online shoppers.

     

    On the face of it, D2C is a win-win for all. For the entrepreneur who need not get entangled with a distribution system or has to spend big monies on getting his consumers to the store. For the consumer it was hassle-free shopping from home and getting delivery at the doorstep.

     

    Customisation, no geographic boundaries, choice and the spread of social media lead to a surge in this business model. And then there were ecommerce portals like Amazon, Flipkart and Meesho which were ready to embrace the D2C model. Indeed, Meesho differentiated itself by not only claiming to be doing social marketing but also keeping regular traditional brands at arms length and promoting D2C brands with their no fees model.

     

    However, the very factors that initially spawned success for D2C have come back to haunt the model and caused a deceleration in its growth. Let’s look at some such factors.

     

    Value proposition

    D2C brands went into a value proposition overdrive (Read discounts and offers). BoAt was giving same for less. Same features of premium brands like Sony or Sennheiser but at discounted prices. Mamaearth, Nykaa, Bombay Shaving Company were all following this model. Lenskart was about more for same. Buy one and get one free. And then with the help of ecommerce companies these brands made discounts or freebies a habit. So, when there was no discount, the allure of buying D2C lessened. As a result, the pricing structure and strategy of most D2C brands was based on discounting. They had to therefore keep a close watch at their costs and any increase in costs hurt their margins.

     

    No distribution setup

    This was a big plus for the D2C players. They were not at the mercy of the distributors, wholesalers or retailers and could theoretically serve any customer anywhere on earth. So, when a brand In Bengaluru wanted to send stuff to someone in the metros or mini metros all it had to do was negotiate with logistic companies and ensure speedy and timely deliveries. But as an analyst put it, it was easy to do this in the initial phase and achieve a turnover of maybe Rs 100 crore. But after that one needed to penetrate into smaller towns. And the cost of sending courier to more than 100 towns in India, without any delay meant that each sale was burdened with a distribution cost which was unlike traditional distribution where the wholesaler or distributor send stuff in big bulk quantities thus ensuring low distribution cost per item. The dilemma was clear. Grow and increase your cost per order or hit a growth ceiling. This again was eating into the margins. Just online sales was not good enough.

    Not surprisingly, most of the D2C brands are now into offline selling too. Nykaa, Mamaearth, Lenskart have all either opened their own stores or are trying to be available in regular offline stores. I am told that the Mamaearth IPO prospectus claimed that their offline sales is now 37% of their total turnover in FY ending March 2023. Anyways, D2C was a misnomer as a huge part of their sales, analysts say upto 75-80%, came form ecommerce platforms. Indeed in 2021-22 more than 80% of BoAt sales was through ecommerce platforms Amazon & Flipkart. Which meant that they had not only distribution cost of paying commission to ecommerce platforms but also the logistic cost of each piece shipped, which given the category, was not something to ignore.

    And as I write this, comes the news that Big Basket, the quintessential D2C brand. Quoting from the Times of India “currently its offline business is on a pilot mode with some 25 stores across Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The idea is to experiment with different store formats with different price points and find the right store strategy before launching a broader rollout in the coming quarters.”

     

    Returns

    A big allure of D2C brands has been the return policy. If the consumer is not happy with the product then it can be returned at no cost. While in personal care this does not come into play, but in categories like apparel and electronics this can again be a margin killer. In apparel the return percentage is supposed to be as high as 30-35%. All this not only adds to the cost but also makes the value proposition difficult to sustain. How long can these brands survive with losses and VC funding?

     

    Online spends and not traditional advertising

    With D2C brands using online selling platforms they started spending money more on online. So, the objective was to direct traffic to their website or ecommerce platforms. Or use social media influencers. This was not very expensive compared to traditional advertising. But the focus moved away from brand building. With value into play (it was more discounting) the communication was more about discounts, offers and promotions. No effort was made to build an emotional connect or base with the consumers. Value or an influencer was the only emotional connect. This meant that the brands had difficulty in selling without discounts or offers.

    So, when the brands needed to grow and break the ceiling of limited markets and they moved offline, they had no connect with traditional distributors. Traditional brands which had been nurtured and had long term association with distributors, wholesalers and retailers resisted these new upstart D2C brands. Also, since these D2C brands had not done much brand building they did not have sufficient consumer pull. As a result, product turnover, in terms of inventory, at retailers was a laggard to traditional brands which had build bonds with the consumers over a period of time. That did not help matters as the distribution channel was not too keen to stock products whose turnover time was in many cases three-four times than that of traditional brands.

    Many D2C brands have now realised the need to do brand-building. That’s why many of these brands are now doing traditional TV advertising. Again, Mamaearth IPO states that while social media spends have increase three times TV ad expenditure is up by almost ten times. Lenskart is trying to cash on to the cricket fever on TV. And BoAt is also into traditional TV advertising.

    With high inflation and funding becoming a problem most D2C brands have to start showing profitability or the path to profitability. Ironically, this is the time when their costs are going up. Offline distribution, spending on expensive traditional TV advertising while sustaining online presence to build brands are all factors which may hurt the future of D2C brands.

    That’s one reason D2C brand are now talking more omnichannel. That’s their new buzzword. They are now trying to justify being jack of all trades. Their advantage against traditional brands is now their vulnerability.

     

  • Very few brands were advertising on both DTH and digital streaming, notes Vikas Mehta

    World Cup Cricket: Digital Streaming vs DTH

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaFinally, home after two weeks on the road. Watching World Cup Cricket streaming on the mobile or laptop was fun. But I am a traditionalist. Give me large screen TV and a DTH connection and you have me hooked. You may say that I can watch streaming on my large screen at home also. True. But my streaming experience has been mostly imperfect. I may be watching streaming on 5G or on broadband but the fluctuation in internet speed is imminent and hardly a day went by while watching World Cup streaming when the quality of video did not deteriorate or I did not face buffering. DTH at least lets me watch all the action without any drop in picture quality or interruption. My wife though was quick to point out that DTH also faces interruption, when it rains or when the electricity supply is interrupted. At least 5G or even broadband with a mini-UPS assures no disruption due to power cut. Well, that’s India for you. So many permutations, so many pros and cons.

     

    But I digress. Today, I am going to talk about what advertising I encountered on DTH and how it was different than on digital streaming.

     

    The first observation I had was that digital streaming was always a ball slower than on DTH. The reason I found out was technical. But it definitely is a bummer, specially during close matches. Not that there have been many in this World Cup, but I would hate to be watching matches like Pakistan vs South Africa or Australia vs New Zealand on streaming and my daughter telling me the result before I know it!!!

     

    The second obvious observation was the sheer number of advertisers on DTH vs digital streaming. And that was a surprise to me. Disney + Hotstar is streaming the matches free on mobile through its app and I would have imagined that this in turn will get them more advertisers. And the overall audience for streaming has been good. The India vs New Zealand match for example got over 4 crore viewers, more than the India vs Pakistan match. So, what explains the less number of advertisers on streaming?

     

    The answer I think may lie in the type of viewership that DTH vs digital streaming offer. If I may take the liberty of slotting the type of audience by the media channel, though this is purely hypothetical and I have no data to back it up, but do hear me out.

     

    During my travels, I noticed that mostly it is the GenZ which was comfortable watching the matches on mobile screens. Definitely because it was free but more importantly because matches on mobile could be watched anywhere. GenZ could watch it in her/his university, while travelling by public transport or at home in her/his own cocoon with earphones plugged on. There is a sense of individuality and privacy while watching the matches on mobile, something which GenZ craves for.

     

    Laptop or maybe tablet screens is the preferred choice for the millenium. Specially during working days. The Disney + Hotstar window would be minimised, volume muted but catching the action  every few minutes is the norm. I witnessed this even during a presentation!

     

    DTH is a family pastime at home or for the retired people. The millennials with their friends, or spouses or even parents watch the action late evening at home. The exception here again is the GenZ. They value their privacy. But they multitask while watching the matches. Multitask in terms of chatting about the matches with friends, exchanging instant memes, all the while maybe doing their college or school tasks.

     

    And I think advertisers have observed the same. And most of the advertisers are targeting the family or the millennial. No wonder, auto brands like Skoda and Mahindra are active on DTH but absent on streaming. GenZ is not whom auto brands are targeting. And they catch the millennials in the evening on DTH. That’s also the reason I do not recall seeing any Dream 11 ad on TV but discovered that it is a broadcast sponsor on digital streaming. Mostly, it’s the tech-saavy GenZ and to some extent the millennial who are the TG for gaming apps like Dream 11. Not necessarily a family type or retired person.

     

    I guess that’s what public sector banks like SBI, PNB etc were thinking with their presence on DTH. So too was Fogg as it has had a family personality as opposed to Axe which is more individual, seductive. No wonder Axe is on streaming. But I was surprised to see that Axis Bank was advertising for its app on DTH. Maybe streaming would have been a better choice for the same.

     

    The presence of health brands like Herbalife or Emami Herbal Kesh on streaming again was a no-brainer, since such health products are preferred more by millennials and GenZ to some extent.

     

    And the best example of media segmentation and targeting came from Hero. It has used DTH for its festival offers on motorcycles under the sub-brand Hero GIFT (Great Indian Festival of Trust). Targeting the family and maybe more small-town buyer who is middle-aged and not into technology but wants an affordable mode of personal transport. DTH and cable are the perfect media to catch this person. Whereas for their EV scooter Vida, digital streaming is the targeted medium.

     

    But then what explains the presence of a new brand of EV, Eblu Feo on DTH and cable broadcast? And it seems to be targeting independent women as Neena Gupta is the brand endorser. Your guess is as good as mine but I think it wants to announce its presence nationally on a medium which gives it a wider reach and also depth of reach. Digital streaming maybe is restricted on those parameters.

     

    I was also impressed with the use of digital streaming by Whisper. Targeting young women who want the best protection for themselves, Whisper is alluding to the reality that these women are also avid cricket fans. Something that has been reinforced by the presence of Pantene, another P&G brand on digital streaming. As an aside, it sems that P&G is making a big play on cricket and that too through digital streaming. The first two weeks matches on streaming were dominated by an overwhelming presence of Tide and truth be told, the one ad being repeated ad nauseam had started to grate. Will Tide or Pantene make a comeback or some other P&G brand will come in the later stages on streaming?

     

    Very few brands, I can recall only Phone Pe and Bookings.com, who were present on both DTH and digital streaming. The reason again is simple. They are targeting very wide instead of narrow focusing. They are still selling their categories and brand building is incidental.

     

    But the most significant presence for me on DTH has unfortunately been the presence of surrogate brands. The various brands of Pan Masala posing as silver-coated elaichi or whatever and also liquor brands under dubious categories like water or experience or playing cards. Interestingly, none of these brands are on digital streaming. What does it tell us? That there is hope. That the advertisers know that targeting GenZ may get them into trouble. That the younger generation is more into healthy products and doesn’t care too hoots about such ads. That the same younger generation is maybe more ethical and frowns upon such surrogates. Or very simply it is the family man who is into these vices? Whatever the reason, the divide is stark.

     

    Join me next time as some new campaigns unfold in the final phase of the World Cup. Let’s see if some new observations are going to unfold.