A question with no immediate answer in sight

With some many FM radio stations being launched, how does one create a distinct identity for a product, the interaction with which is only aural?

Are you a vegetarian?

A couple of weeks back, I was leafing through a menu at a vegetarian Italian restaurant. A bit of trivia on the inside flap - the word vegetarian has nothing to do with vegetables (at least that's what I thought until then). The word vegetarian comes from the Latin word vegetus, meaning 'whole, sound, fresh, or lively'.

Maybe it's just me getting excited knowing this bit of trivia.

Of cages and jungles

It has been said that if you want to observe animals, one should head towards the jungles. The tiger in the cage is akin to the traditional focus group with the animal highly conscious and pacing around tensely. The other one is the observation study. The more and more focus groups I attend, the more I am convinced that 'insights' does not dwell in abundance there. And the few observation studies say a lot more. Think we need more of the latter!

A day at the park

Spent the Sunday at Bannerghatta National Park with the wife and kid. Advay spent the whole time growling at the sight of the lions and the tigers. I take it that he was suitably excited. Just wondered...why is it that we lose our sense of curiousity and wonder as we grow up? Wouldn't life be a lot better if the infectious enthusiasm towards the new wasn't lost?

What a joy, what a joy

Reading a company's website is not one of those things you would categorize as enjoyable (what with it being written in corporate speak and being almost similar to that of other companies). Unless you are a company called Innocent about which I have written before.

Now, these guys have made themselves all the more lovable by writing a blog. It can't get more human, honest and charming than this. Start reading here.

And they have begun something called the Fruitstock, a free festival. Delightful.

Of Bangalore roads & mobile phones

If you are traveling around Jayanagar in Bangalore (and I’m sure there are many other parts of Bangalore quite similar), you’d encounter addresses that go something like this ‘9th Block, 2nd Main, 3rd Cross’. It is road after parallel road. Now, if you were to traverse areas like Cooke Town or Cox Town, you’d be walking along roads with names like Standage Road, Spencer Road or Stephens Road. Quite individual and reeking of personality.

The reason I thought of this was looking at the way Motorola and Nokia brand their phones. While Motorola has the MOTOSLVR, MOTORAZR or the MOTOPEBL, Nokia has the 9300i, the E60 or the N72. Motorola seems to be creating distinct personalities for their phones while Nokia appears to be bland. Now, I am not commenting on the superiority, the functionality or the features. All I am saying is that Motorola phones appear individual and reek of personality.

Positioning according to Paul

"I can't do the moonwalk, but I can play and sing, and I can play guitar solos, which Michael Jackson can't" – Paul McCartney

Which is as good a definition of positioning as you can find in any marketing textbook.

A couple of words on one word equity

Had the pleasure of reading Lord Saatchi's speech at the Cannes this year on onewordequity. He is the modern day Mark Anthony who's come to praise advertising, not bury it. The speech reads much like a Roman emperor holding forth to the subjects, except in this case, I am not sure we are happy about lending our ears.

According to him, the future of advertising lies in trapping the brand in just one word. This seems the path to salvation in an increasingly digital world. It is quite an eloquent heartfelt speech, no doubt. With no disrespect meant to Lord Maurice Saatchi, it is precisely this kind of thinking that blows across the marketing world as the next big thing. I can imagine marketers and advertising people alike scurrying forth with their thesauruses and dictionaries looking for that one elusive magic word that captures the essence of their brand bang on.

In an age where people are shying away from the written or the printed word (why else would Harry Potter be credited with reintroducing the love of reading amongst adults and children alike?) and absorbing visuals, be it the television or the internet, we are carrying out reductionism to the extremes by hammering a brand into a unidimensional word.

As the environment becomes more complex and the navigation of brands even more so, I feel we need to understand the complex nature of brands and try to communicate its multidimensional nature rather than practice the art of reductionism.

In sum, what I am saying in two words is 'Get complex'.

My humble apologies, Lord Saatchi

The power of new media

Italy sure did win the world cup, but what is being discussed 3 days after the finals is the infamous Zidane head butt. It is probably one of the most watched videos on Google and You Tube. Even a day after the finals, a spoof video of Zidane head butting the entire Italian team was circulating fast and furious around the office.

One can only marvel at the power of the new media (media in which people are active participants) in distributing content to millions of people around the world. Now, if only we could create such distributable content for our brands.

How to sound officious the Dilbert way

On another one of my random net trawls, I visited the official Dilbert website. It not only has archived comic strips, but also enough stuff to divert your mind from the omnipresent work. Like this game called the Mission Statement Generator.

Read statements like "Our goal is to conveniently customize progressive intellectual capital in order to globally supply performance based deliverables to meet our customer's needs". Hit the re-generate button for more fun.

Success sans jargon

Tucked away into one of the by lanes of Ahmedabad is a nondescript building that houses Paras Pharma. Not many know it as the company behind products such as Afterbath Freshness Cream and Livon. The company has not just introduced new products, but products that have created categories by themselves.

Run by a couple of people who are very hands-on, it is quite fascinating to watch them function at close quarters. The reason why I find it fascinating is that they seem so divorced from the jargon-filled world that has come to so typify modern marketing. I am yet to hear phrases such as ‘brand essence’ or ‘brand positioning’. Maybe it is also because there are no MBAs in the system. They do not seem to be doing badly by any far stretch of imagination.

Something that I have been pondering about – Are MBAs necessary to run a crack-marketing outfit?

Low interest category? What's that?

Companies such as these prove that there is no such thing as a low interest category.

Weekend Mall Rats – Part II

Visited another mall on Sunday. This time it was Garuda Mall on Magrath Road. Noticed a couple of brands like Nokia and Lenovo. Lenovo has latched on to the football fever and was doing a football contest (answer some questions, guess who wins the world cup and win a few prizes etc) with a small goal and a football to play around with.

Nokia, I think was sponsoring a live singing act in the evening. The more I see brands around and the more I think about it, I feel all experiences today need to be entertaining. Considering the short time spans and the variety of experiences that are on display (so much to do, so little time), it is the experience that is the most entertaining (in terms of engagement, amusement and newness) that will win. Brands then must strive to constantly surprise its users by providing an entertaining experience.

Weekend Mall Rats – Part I

My life partner & the kid decided to go visit a mall on Saturday evening. Having come to Bangalore 7 months back, we still had not visited Eva Mall on Brigade road, so Saturday evening found us at the place. The kid had a rollicking time playing amongst a zillion coloured balls in the Fun Corner while the roommate decided to try her hand at bowling.

After strolling around the place for a while, we found the place strangely deserted for a Saturday evening. I had two hypotheses on hand –
(i) There is no multiplex
(ii) There is no food court

Turns out there is a food court, but it is under renovation. So that explained the lonesome aura. Only later did it strike me that this mall had products only for women and kids. Raga, Carbon, Levis, Reebok… and all for women only. It was then that my partner made a pertinent observation. Having a mall only for women rules out 50% of your audience. And common sense would suggest that men and women who shop together would rather visit a mall that stocks products for both (for the sake of convenience).

Guess the only guy doing business there is the one running the coffee parlour.