Left is right

Working on the apparel category, one of the first things that struck me was that everything is made for right handed people. Why is it that the pocket and the button holes are to your left? It is only to facilitate the right hander. Why can't they come out with a separate line of clothes that is designed specifically for the southpaw? Maybe it does not make much business sense (considering that most of the people would be right handers), but it sure is a thoughtful gesture.

Vanity mirror and the Motorazr

While watching women use the Motorazr, one of those sudden brainwaves struck me. Why doesn't Motorola develop a flip top phone that has a vanity mirror (also somehow doubling up as a display screen) on the inside? This could be a product line only for women. Some say it's dumb while others say it's a smart idea.

Hollywood & advertising research

One of those books which I like dipping into time and again is Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman (Screenwriter and two time academy award winner for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men). This book is funny, vitriolic, greatly entertaining and insider Hollywood.

Talking of studio executives he has this to say - 'Compunding their problem of job security in the decision-making process is the single most important fact, perhaps, of the entire movie industry: NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING. Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work. Every time out it's a guess - and if you're lucky, an educated one'.

Notwithstanding all the research that goes into the development of advertising, not to forget the so called pre-test, I guess it all boils down to an educated guess.

Quizzing and the male

Being a regular quizzer, this is one of those things that has set me thinking. Why is the activity of quizzing dominated by males? It can't be that males are better at remembering things (try getting a man to remember important dates!). In fact, women seem to be far better at remembering the smallest of details. It can't be that men read more than women or are more receptive to information as a species. Just a thought - is it to do with any other subtle way in which the male and female brains are oriented? Seems to me it is worth pursuing the thought with some neuroscience experts. Or is it that it has nothing to do with the brain, but it is an issue of social conditioning - like girls play with Barbie dolls and boys play with cars.

Time to blow out the candles

Here's to my wife Amrita who celebrates her birthday today. Happy Birthday!

Testing to Destruction

Been revisiting Alan Hedges’ ‘Testing to Destruction’, the seminal 1974 work that I feel is required reading for planners. He has this to say - ‘We would be well advised to strike the word ‘testing’ from our advertising research vocabulary, because it gives a quite misleading impression of the proper aims and possible achievements of the operation’.

32 years later, the word ‘testing’ still exists and we are still using a ‘one-size-fits-all’ advertising research model. And we are using it to determine whether a piece of communication gets the go-ahead or not.

I am as guilty as the marketing manager is in using a quick and dirty, cover-your-ass, subjugating decision making to research approach. Maybe we need to reawaken the debate on advertising research.

Make the Paradigm shift

It’s a word that might have sounded good when introduced, but one that has far overstayed its welcome. A couple of samplers from various meetings that I’ve attended – ‘Facilitate a paradigm shift by delivering holistic cross-functional solutions that will strengthen sustained competitive advantage’. Huh? Another one – ‘What we are looking for is the development of a communication paradigm that will be the guiding principles for the future’. Or the funniest one I’ve heard – ‘That’s the paradigm I’m coming from’. It sounds like a language that you understand, but you still don’t get what the other person is trying to say.

I have a theory – we tend to use such words to fool ourselves into believing that what we are doing is the matter of the gravest import. Using words like ‘paradigm’ in long-winded sentences and delivering it in an officious tone makes the whole thing quite intimidating and serious. Here is a plea to sanitize the business environment of jargon. Let’s keep it simple. Let’s make a paradigm shift.

Hunch on Hutch

Fooling around with Spell with flickr. Lots of fun. While on one of my mindless surfing trips on the telly, I managed to catch an ad that only showed only radios, speakers, Discmans etc. in various places like a lift, an airport, a car. And it had a catchy soundtrack. Fifteen seconds into the commercial, I had a hunch that the advertiser was Hutch. Fifteen seconds later, my hunch was proved right. The message was that now you could listen to music anywhere thanks to the service that allows you to download complete songs.

Simple, not verbose, child-like, stylish - the great thing about this brand is that it has managed to evolve a signature style for itself (in terms of both form and content). So much so that one hears the phrase ‘this is so Hutch’ with regard to non-Hutch communication that bears a resemblance to Hutch. If there is a brand today with a distinct voice, tone & manner, it has to be this one. Helps to work at a sub-conscious level in registering the brand in today’s cluttered environment.

Life is random

Left office half an hour early on some work after which I was shopping at Thoms. Bumped into an old school mate (though not so recognizable thanks to age and fat) I hadn't met since passing out. Turns out that there are many more school mates based here.

If I hadn't left office early, I wouldn't have been at Thoms at that time and I would not have met up with a mate. Makes you wonder about life. Reminded me about a movie that fooled around with the effects of time called Run Lola Run.

Car pool, anyone?

Ask anyone in Bangalore about Bangalore and the first thing you hear is a well practiced rant. More often than not, the rant is about the traffic and pollution. I’m sure the rant is the same in any major metropolis.

With the rising prices of petrol/diesel, I think the time is ripe for an automobile manufacturer to extol the virtues of a ‘car pool’. It makes the brand look socially responsible, if you ask me.

Make money from ideas

Considering that a large part of my life is spent in the office, and an advertising agency at that, I spend a lot of time thinking about the business. Something that has been bothering me for a while is the way agencies get paid for their work. From a time when agencies got paid 15% commission, they are slowly moving a fee based remuneration system.

However, the fortunes of many brands have taken a huge turn for the better on the basis of one 'big idea'. To make the agencies sustainable in the long run, how about licensing ideas? This is something that seems to work well for the movie industry, Harry Potter and Star Wars being prime examples. Yeah, the agencies have to spring out the money in developing the idea, but they can license it to clients for a certain sum. Every year that the client uses the idea, the agency gets to make money on the royalty. It is just a wild idea with no thought being given to the legal, financial and business aspects.

Hot brew. Lukewarm strategies.

Having to work on a coffee brand, I've been reading a lot on the world's second largest traded commodity. Most of the strategies on coffee revolve around the product being a morning wake-up call or a means to socialise with family & friends.

However, the existing literature on the beverage reveals it to be a 'radical brew'. Not my words, but that of Gregory Dicum and Nina Luttinger, authors of “The Coffee Book” (which I'm yet to procure). However, having read Uncommon Grounds, a history of coffee by Mark Pendergrast, what is clear is that this drink is potent. Rulers across Europe have tried to shut down coffee houses as it was a place for people to exchange debate which led to unrest and revolutions. Apparently, the French revolution was conceived of in coffee houses.

The caffeine content in coffee can surely jolt one's grey cells and lead to clear thinking (now that seems like a different platform for a coffee brand to occupy). The next time you order for coffee when brainstorming, think about it.

Innocent drinks

Stumbled across a delightful company called Innocent suitably situated at Fruit Towers, London. Started by two ex-consultants and one advertising guy (or is it the other way around), this brand brims over with a voice that is conversational, human and funny.

Third time lucky?

This first post is a tribute to my beautiful wife Amrita. Friend, partner, wife, inspiration, Rock of Gibraltar. She probably has more conviction and hope for my abilities than I have myself.

After two failed attempts at blogging, this is my third attempt. This is a small token of love for her birthday on the 23rd.

Hope the world is made up of more people like you. Happy Birthday.