The great Indian chamcha

ChamchaMan

The dark knight far away from the world of truth and self-respect, their lives a creature who destroys the ambition of hard working man and wears a unique line of clothing called “iYesSir”. He is a person who can pop up from the cubicle next to yours, he is very close to stupidity, and yet very far from honesty. He is none other than the ChamchaMan.

ChamchaMan leaves no stones un-turn when it comes to praising the Boss. His praises and suggestions are like fart which comes only when it is not wanted. He brings the “aaha” factor into the eyes of the Boss. He licks all the sauce of the Boss…oh so gross, yet you can do nothing about it. Can you!!!

 

ChamchaMan lives in a different layer of the atmosphere, called the scychosphere. ChamchaMan fly like a ball out of the boundary of anyone’s imagination, which is not part of any game but certainly jeopardize anybody’s game plan!

 

 

ChamchaMan is the conundrum of a logical mind, but solution to the market growth for Oil Company… well not literally. True to its spirit it has made well known politicians, managers, boss very successful, ofcourse we are party to the collateral damage. That is the level of commitment you require to be a sharpshooting ChamchaMan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pic source: cartoonstock.com

 

But my dear chamchas…oops friends, readers … how much bad it sounds and how much unacceptable chamcha-giri as a full time profession , but there is another side of the Great Indian Chamcha – the ChamchaMan also teaches us virtues of life and to the Indian society and perhaps to Earth and Jupiter…and these are:

ChamchaMan seeks no discrimination – irrespective of caste, creed, calories, sex, color or colorless, it simply knows oiling. ChamchaMan has no religion, he is a selfless follower of chamcha-giri.  ChamchaMan has no fear.

 

To become a doctor, lawyer, an engineer, scientist, one need degree but to to become a ChamchaMan there is no university and need no degree. But you can go to any degree of Chamchaism. It is sugar free, fat free, hence keep the consumers in good shape! Just like in every PC here is Intel Inside, similarly in every human there is a Chamcha Inside! …well almost.

 

 

The great Indian Chamcha is the original product of India, true follower of hash tag MakeInIndia campaign.

 

In the end I would like to extend my heartiest congratulation for this great initiative of running this blogging contest as The Great Indian Chamcha as a topic. Wow what a wonderful idea, only a great and iconic newspaper company can come out with such idea to bring likeminded Chamchas …sorry bloggers together. Truly appreciate your effort and time (of India) to read my grammatically error freaked blog! which I truly enjoyed writing it ….felt so wah wah for myself… I almost went in depression thinking that I could be a great chamcha if not a blogger.

 

Mom made beta, but chamchas made neta
Boss hai jo hamaari leeta, but chamchas hamesha deeta

 

 

 

This Blog is an entry to the The Great Indian Blogging Contest, as a part of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2015.” 
http://www.aklf.in/
http://www.facebook.com/GreatIndianCircus
http://www.kolkatabloggers.com

 cartoonstock.com

Brand Baba Bazaar

Recently in Hisar we saw unprecedented support for the then baba and now an inmate in Haryana jail. This can happen only in India when we make bullshit in India and celebrate it with such doped enthusiasm. But hey we should also see the economic impact of such babagiri and the babanomics around it. Guess someone has official numbers with articulated CAGR for the addressable market of babaism ( religion agnostics). And interestingly the allied market is no less impacted with the babagiri. ATMs to small departmental stores, general grocery to medical to travel counters – everyone enjoys the maha boom of stupidity. I am not surprised if we have an App to calculate the spiritual quotient or the healing touch which we missed to understand in schools. And while we grow old this babadolls grab our imagination like spitted chewing gums grab pants when you sit on empty park benches.

Organic to inorganic they have the product and they have the growth strategy. It is not the in and out breathing rates but it is about the spiritual retail ( may I name it spritail ) sales conversion rate which is driven by words of wisdom from the mouths of non-dyed black hair white clad sometime orange sometime green dudes. They also have their bands played at the background.

They have the all the Cs – concert, content, commodity, channels ( including tv)  and the consumer.

Perfect market to operate B2C ~ baba to consumer

No don’t laugh as the money into this will gag your imagination! India’s spiritual and religious market ( baba bazaar) is estimated to be over $30 billion (SOURCE: TOI, Feb 2014)

 They even use PCs and smartphones.

And they have brand managers! PRs! They are more organized than some of the investment banking companies which could not sustain recession and got diluted, and perhaps some of the headhonchos from the same i-banks went to attain the evening prayers with spiritual speeches. They even sell DVDs for your missed out opportunity of understanding. Oh boy!

So you see there is so much opportunity slowly unfolding…  I am afraid if they have touched the cloud and big data … internet of things would be challenging my own imagination.

Back to earth from cloud – as I was mentioning the allied market success and the spiritual branding … remember emotional attachment triumphs rational analysis, thus give rise to brands to applied spirituality! 

I also find organic goods making inroads to market India - which sometime have very ethnic and spiritual resemblance kept in up market showrooms. Though I can’t directly claim them as part of spiritual market but they are marketed and branded niche to attract the health conscious, go-green wallet share.  

The spirit of spiritual branding is not new but it is so well rooted that they do not need much or no digital marketing tactics to reach consumers. It is a threat to some of the leading FMCG companies especially in India and perhaps outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The spiritual biscuits of the future might give nightmares to FMCG giants. We will track the spiritual space till then babaji ki jai ….

 

 

thinkwithgoogle what else

Hello,

if you haven't stumbleupon this insightful intuitive webpage from Google then you are missing nothing except information which might be a good read.


http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/


Brand Insights , analysis rich article , examples , market research all coming together ...

brand infiltrating mobiles

being mobile is the popular slogan which is not published yet...however the other popular slogan are tending in the fancy smartphones of the mo-humans.
we are yet to discover the amazingness in coming years as the planets is still identifying the fitting contents in the world of mobile ads.
Further the regional dimensions of ads also vary in terms of content , technology (form and service) and the consumption pattern.
Ad companies are optimistic
Ad companies are adding into the space
Ad companies are discussing apps to flash into smartphones
Ad companies will rely on m-commercial activity



As we analyze the potential of mobile ad market which in one word is jackpot to marketers.
global-mobile-advertising--statistics-and-trends  (pls enlarge once the link opens into new page)

 Mobile world will excite the new and existing Brands  into the minds of the consumer.
Content is king ...the content needs to be smartphone enabled.
some of the unavoidable mobile trends i could perceive :

• Participative and interactive mobile ad ( released as early as 2001 by MIT communication / Wieden + Kennedy in New York.  )
• Informative mobile ad
• Crowd sourcing

the above sums high level trends. However participative ads will see lot of traction in terms of consumer inquisitiveness. content will be the crowd puller. There would be deifferent facets to participation ...forced participation ( contest ) is one of them. There are talking Brands which are touching consumer minds as long as consumer is with his/ her mobiles....

Technology will idealise the concept of participation and there would be version available as the market matures. Brand will become very lean and data centric before being targeted in the form of ads to consumers.

All these factors will refresh Brand strategy , rather force Brands to reinvent into new form factors. Of course Brands are device agnostic but content is not ....till date . And then there are platforms / OS / ecosystem /

Ramping up on mobile

Brand presence within 5 inch screen or more is as challenging  as interesting as we think of it...then comes the CTR (click through rate) questions ... Brands are revamping its Aps with new navigation and deeper enhancements of content .

 What are the Ad Format :

Mobile banners
Customs
Interstitials
App lists ( ad units)
Panels

Enter the Cloud

Cloud computing eliminates the need to wait...
So we don't need to wait for the brand to knock the mobile doors - it would cloud the imagination of the consumer. But how effective cloud will prove to the advertisers wooing the gen X Y Zs.., even I am not that sure (means I will keep googling) till I am posting my research outcome in my next blog in 2014 !?

some points to pin under the cloud ...how advertisement should affect the way we treat brands.

in cloud - there would be multiple point of contact for a brand to ad
in cloud - technology is available and it is available for less ( so regional brand can out perform)
in cloud - ads could be device agnostic / platform , OS , consumer agnostic :)
in cloud - again content will rule and not the container #pj
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in cloud -  advertisers might not be sure / analytics should save the media planner

media planner - I don't want to get into this topic.... as of now.

So what is the all the above getting into...it is getting into the fact that technology is the talk of the town ..creativity is now tech dependent... television is still a medium of info-tainment but mobile is eating the consumption time.
All in all we are into exciting times...

thanks

 

Apps adding zing to Brand

 

Apple is an iconic brand, but what differentiated it to be in that phenomenal club of brands was its cutting edge technology and technology and technology. I just tried to cover everything when I said technology. And for last few years there are similar brands in the handheld technology segment ,  churning out new version and upgrades and form factors from their stable. But the how long , yes not any more . Not anymore consumer would be so fascinated by the look that is on diet … because you see we have a NOTE by Samsung which is little to sleek and little too big for my pocket. Still it is fascinating! Why … well the write up till now seems to me as if I am talking about the hardware form factor dynamics in the mobile market. Certainly not!.

We should observe that mobile and PCs are no longer a reason for customer choice , only because you are a great brand ,as nowadays everyone is hiring TQM leaders in their R&D and providing best in class in their best in the price segment. Brand is no longer identified in the minds of the consumer in the technology segment. It is the APPLICATION and the attached services which would and is creating all the differences to that sleekest handheld device in your hand.

To give straight explanation of the above, let me as consumer share my thoughts. Some of the brands which I associate with its software OS  platform are:

Samsung / HTC / GOOGLE / Motorola ---------- Android

NOKIA -----------  Windows mobile and Nokia OS

Apple -------------     iOS

Blackberry ------------    BB OS ( QNX launched Q1 FY12)

Now why I will buy Samsung …because I like Android phones, there are so many options and its cheaper than Apple

Apple coz I like iOSlllll  and it has cool application , and ya I have money ;)

Blackberry coz I am very smart and I have the BBM power

Nokia  because I like Nokia

So those were some very raw possibilities of consumer  purchasing behavior . Then comes some of the economic factor like price and miro factor color , style, etc.

What I wanted to highlight is that APPs are the factor which would give brand a sustainable push in the market going forward. We see ads in all forms of commercials talking only about the APPs in the products and any slightest differences are definitely making news and views and of course a boost in the brand equity.

Another new technology in the apps word is the cloud technology. This is again would be a strategic for many brands in coming days. Apple is already talking about the cloud service in its iPhone 4S. 

Another trend coming in my mind is the mobile technology space is the security/ anti virus applications for handheld device. Kespersky are the only one which is already in my mind which started early with its commercials for Antivirus software for mobile phones (specially in India)

Similar ways there are many apps in game and entertainment segment , finance etc which are creating their ow identity which big brands are using it to co-Brand with their product to up stick sales….

So isn’t this a new trend in the brand management …. Hopefully !!!

 

facebook retooled

(My view: The latest move by team facebook is to offer business users more intuitive and redeeming feel to the facebook page. This is another way to counter the Google + syndrome slowly picking up...the argument I had already posted sometime back )

SOURCE : AdAge Digital  

Facebook today unveiled a major redesign to its profile pages called Timeline, which transforms the list of status messages and comments into a scrapbook of a user's entire history on the platform. Even though this transforms the entire aesthetic and function of profile pages, this doesn't apply to brands and their pages.

While the updates revealed at Facebook's F8 conference add a suite of new tools for users to express what they are interested in -- like music, recipes, TV shows and news -- there's little detail on what brand pages will look like going forward. What we do know is that they won't look exactly like Timeline, but, according to Facebook VP-Global Marketing Solutions David Fischer, will be "consistent" with the Timeline look-and-feel, which is picture-heavy and curated to highlight only the most important events in a user's life.

The new Timeline pages let users feature any content -- check-ins, photos or other updates -- in longer-view reverse chronological order. So instead of the status updates and likes from the last week or month of activity, a user profile page can look like a summary of his or her entire existence on the social network.

"It suddenly gives [users] the opportunity to share what business you're in, the products you're using or buying and sharing that with your friends," said Mr. Fischer.

Users can also tack applications from media companies and developers on their timelines. For example, with the Nike Plus app, users can publish the runs and distances recorded on its mobile app straight to Facebook pages. Media behavior can also be stored there with top-viewed movies or TV shows or favorite songs or albums gleaned from apps from Hulu, Netflix or Spotify respectively.

So what's the opportunity for marketers?

The most immediate implications are for entertainment marketers. Now that users can share what they are listening to, watching or reading on Facebook through media partner applications, marketers can grab those mentions and give them wider distribution through sponsored stories. So far, marketers have only been able to take users' check-ins or status updates about their brands and distribute them to a wider Facebook audience. Sony Pictures for the upcoming movie "Moneyball" plans to promote when users watch the trailer; the band Coldplay will promote when users are listening to its music.

"Marketers want to promote stories about the things they're affiliated with but don't always own the apps," said Gokul Rajaram, Facebook Ads director of product management, referring to apps from services such as Spotify, Netflix or Hulu that allow users to share what content they're consuming. "Now you can promote stories from any app about objects you own, not just from the page owned by the marketer."

But for Facebook, which eMarketer predicts will clear $3.8 billion from advertising this year, will all these changes add up to more revenue? "Anything that increases engagement on Facebook, and captures more user data, will drive up ad revenues," said Hussein Fazal, CEO of Ad Parlor. "The announcements today definitely hit both of these key points."

This also opens up a whole new way to target. What users are listening to, watching or reading now will become a filter to serve ads against. For now, this new way to target ads will only be available through Facebook Ads' API and its direct sales team.

I call this process re-Branding

As per sources, Google’s new social media platform, Google Plus, is the result of an ambitious and earnest effort by Google at social networking. However it is also revealed that Google was not investing heavily enough in social networking as rival Facebook. It seems the company is working hard to adding the millions of users with a PLUS. The PLUS will allow people to share links and media among people they have divided into “circles” based on their relationships. The trend I guess would be followed with the gamut of social media offers like YouTube.
Even if Google + team is not blindly following Facebook and Twitter, but they are following them :P
Google + will bring the cult back and dominate the socializing space … I have no idea. But let’s get some perspective into the argument.

Late realization
I guess it’s better to be late than never. And it also came from top executive “It is about time we have come to the realization, if you don’t know people, then you can’t organize the information for people.”
I think Google has the right platform already set, and it would be a natural progression to reorganize with social and search touch.
Also one should not forget several failed attempts by Google to create Buzz in the social space. But with mixed experience I think it should be a good for Google to PLUS.

Attempt is the other name for RISK in social networking domain
The first mover advantage is true in love, war and now socializing. Google is the best search engine. Facebook is the best social networking site. Any foray into another field, through imitating or whatever, though good for expansion and diversification of portfolio, would be a good attempt or rather a social RISK.

Why suddenly :
Is it…Google Plus to Challenge Facebook in Brand Ads???
Of course its just want to socialize ..its money and its big and growing. As per MAGNAGLOBAL, it is expected that the online advertising to collectively grow by 11.7% in 2011 and by an average rate of 11.0% through 2015, with a total global market size of $103 billion in 2010.
Though it is still early to take a call, Google+ has shown signs of keen user engagement, according to Google :)  with already millions of users in Google/gmail , it would be not difficult to convert them into Google plus. And I am sure in coming days there’s a lot of magic still in store for Google to offer the socially active consumers!
With Google+ profile page Google should be excited about boosting the business experience with rich analytics and the ability to connect that identity to Google’s major money-making AdWords business. Google is also testing on business page demand and guess will also cross sell the analytics as a service to them. So cross selling huh!
User interaction is also a buzz in the advertising word and I think Google through Plus should be encasing the shift. There are also more in advertising . This social media war is in essence the defining battle for the future of the advertising business, and we should all be paying close attention.

Backward Integration
Yes ..its BI for Google Plus with rest of universe to connect and reconnect not only with user profile but also to hone the loose treads on its advertising offerings / engines with Adsense and Adwords. Further adding it to the mobile online space, I think it’s gonna rock invinciblein virtual space.
Also we know that Google has Search engine capabilities, strong datacenter farming, browser, analytics, ad engines, etc etc. So this is just to integrate all together with a people and + experience.

Did I mention Tulalip!

Ok ..people ..MICROSOFT is working on its secret plan or call it just a coincident. Well whatever,

It was entitled Tulalip and promised users to “find what you need and share what you know easier than ever’. There was a page that displayed features which allowed users to connect via Facebook and Twitter, but no Google+. There were some links to ‘See how it works’ amongst others but obviously didn’t work. Source: http://www.socl.com/

So in coming days there would be so much to come.

Google + Dominate or not …it would be interesting to see if we dominate the sudden change, and shift our browser usage.

The analysis:

I am not sure if this theory hold true…but there’s no harm in trying

In the year 2005 (Mid 2005) I signed myself in Orkut. And there began a journey to a whole new world of time pass. This time it was a smart move, I said to myself. Days went by happily. Suddenly in 2008 (Mid 2008) I was introduced to Facebook. I felt I had hit the jack pot. I liked the color blue , and it was a refreshing feel coming out if the pink feel of Orkut. And now its mid 2011 my appetite for socializing is again challenged and I am in the verge of the shift.

So the point I want to bring in is if there is any logic to the social networking self life or cycle in the social networking space. With reference to the above situation, I SEE a trend - THAT in  every 3 years the social networking market wakes up to a new change, and people kind of starts adopt it . So the fact is how companies in the social media space is enticing the user preference and user experience. I see its again 3 years and its again time for Google to divide the market preferences by adding more users with Plus (ofcourse) which will help Google multiply the business.

Techno brAND syndrome

Technology is no longer an aspiration, and should be included in the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need!

So why I am saying is because of the recent survey By Afaqs.com on Buzziest Brands of 2011. Out of which The top 15 buzziest brands give out a peculiar trend. There are 6 technical brands and 5 telecommunication brands. This makes one realize how important technology has become in today’s world.

For more read : http://trak.in/tags/business/2011/02/28/top-buzziest-brands-india/

CW ji…

I know it’s a history now … but I thought to bring the dead (topic) to life.

Post Dabaag, it was GWG …I don’t know it was meant to be a HIT or it hit the brand India! However, I believe India is bigger and no event should tarnish the image and the potential of the market as the MNC would see it. It’s part of the business.


Ok …I don’t know the real issue hovering around the CWG all I could gather from the past one month before the CWG launch from the media sources that its certainly gonna dent the brand India. The not so anticipated CWG for many including me was then became the most awaited block-buster topic at almost every corner of many offices, parking areas, the coffee shop, the bloggers lane and the joggers link (sorry pls swap the words). It’s working as detox. And the media covering every inch of it, making life worse for Mr. Kill Madi :P :S anyways you got it right.


But I don’t want to blame Mr. Killer you know…Why? Firstly, the matter of fact is that this guy Mr. Killer is doing the job, the job of spending big amount. So what if the roof was falling and bridge did collapse and treadmills were rented for some fancy numbers. The bigger picture was he was trying …let’s appreciate the guy Mr. Killers whose experience doesn’t allow him to do such jobs. And in public sector you learn things in hard ways…so CWG is/was in the learning process. If we really want to blame, we need to blame the system who appointed Mr. Killer for this job. Secondly, why there was no PPP (Public Private Partnership). Thirdly, why media was jumping around when the D day was nearing creating more panic and negativity. What were they doing a year ago? It should have helped the work to finish fast. Fourthly, there was heavy rain (as Ms Dikshit mentioned); the sky was falling kind stuff. And fifthly, there is certainly a sixth angle in it.


The real issue and the point I want to bring here is, this CWG is a tip of the iceberg of corruption; procrastinated work; the ‘chalta hai’ syndrome; the lousy project planning of government; the tut u mai mai; bla and blue . The CWG situation is present every day of my life, your life, Indian life - the corruption touches us every morning. Today its news for you, tomorrow you will become the news. The matter of fact is what the point of discussion when the system is so corrupted (am I right Mr. Raja). Ever since I had paid road tax, I still haven’t enjoyed much of good roads in Bangalore (and for your knowledge, the road tax in Bangalore is the highest in India). Even the road in Bihar and Jharkhand is better; please visit Jamshedpur to test it. The fact is the common wealth of man in India is never being utilized properly, and it is, and has become the way of our life and system. So why do we need to be so vocal about CWG? However, in the end, there was a happy ending - like a Karan Johar movie. There were balloons flying and A R Rehman rocked on the D day. So chill.


It’s only in days to come that we will find if the brand image of India gets a beating. The world had watched and is watching, but as they say ‘we shall overcome’. I mean we should, what you say Mr. Killer!


All the best … it happens only in ‘Incredible India’

The turnaround man

Yes, Mr. Nitish Kumar, the CM of Bihar…the man in the spot light…so is his effort. Before I fill the post with praise, I would like to bring statistics to ponder. Source: Economic times:

A manifestation of the turnaround in the law and order and infrastructure sectors could be gauged from the fact that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in the state has shot up from 94,446 in 2006 to 3.56 lakh in 2008.

According to the latest Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) data, Bihar’s GDP grew by an astounding 11% in the five years between 2004-05 and 2008-09, much more than the national average of 8.49%, making it the second fastest-growing state in the country. It, of course, has benefited from a low base effect since the state has long been a growth laggard, but governments before Mr. Kumar had been unable to accelerate economic growth.

‘We want the next round of green revolution to happen in Bihar’

Sure we want, and me too, Bihar is a special state for me; most of my growing days (schooling) have been spent in the state. Later became Jharkhand… Keeping away the synonyms of Bihar with kidnappings and abductions, the criminal-politician nexus; let start it new… at-least the thought should be new and hope anticipated …
As we travel through the 2010, we are more hopeful about prospects for 2010 compared to the dismal valuation and performance all these years. It’s not about Bihar or Biharis..It’s a state of the nation which needs to be constructed and re-BRANDED … yeah exactly brand it new!!!

Further, I would be happy if we could get the “litti (s)” branded and retailed…howz the thought …
Mc Litti or BBL (Bihar Baked Littis) anyways …happy new year 

Brand the New Year

With this brand new note we should start the 2010 :)
Wish everyone around the world a happy prosperous brand efficient new year!!!

Brand GANDHI SELL?

Yeah, again Gandhi is obsessing me...and the brand community...I was reading the ET today and a article strike me, was all about the Gandhi.... as a case for in point "Mont Blanc” is going the Gandhi way...however, the only difference is that there is ROI attached for every piece of 241 pen they are going to get sell.

LETS not deviate from the topic....I believe is there a whole new kind of marketing propaganda ushering in the market...call it trendsetter...atleast in India. Propaganda bcoz it is not tested (I believe)...and will it work....man it’s just a pen ... or leave it to self actualization.

From marketing prospective why not extend the human personalities into brand and do the Che Guevara way ...again there are fear of misuse and category killing effect....
I m also not sure how many of these 241 pens would react in the minds of the "the consumers" but one interesting point Mr. Tushar Gandhi made and was quoted in that ET (Brand Equity) article was and I quote again

"He would sell his autograph for Rs 5 which he gave to the khadi fund,” says Tushar Gandhi. Gandhi himself was well aware of his brand value.

Anyways, let the course of time decide how it sells … in a big market called India which is now in itself

brand GANDHI

When we think of a product, we tend to think of a brand and subconsciously our mind gets involved in the brand projected towards the product. To ascertain my thought in the generalized situation ,I am sure; if asked about soap or chocolate probable response would be either Lux or Dove (if asked to a lady) etc, for soap and may be Cadbury for chocolate. Similarly if we need to think of mobile phone in India it’s definitely Nokia which strikes in our mind instantly. Brand gives familiar identity of the product.
As a mater of fact, brand is intangible product which simulates in the mind of a customer before it really gets sold. It is like mind over matters, akin to the Indian politics , where we are put to simulated situation before it converts to reality and the projections are so meticulously and lucratively branded making election feel like a product and people exercise their franchise with lot of enthusiasm as if to realize benefit of the product immediately after election .

The recent result of the Lok Sabha Election 2009 is the greatest testimony to illustrate my argument. Like Zoozoos to Vodafone, its Gandhis to Congress. Brand matters, however,brand building is also an aspect for the brand to come as winner and if we go back to history of Indian politics we have only few prominent charismatic personality in our mind. Prominent among them are Netaji Subash Bose, Gandhiji and the Nehru family which dominated post independence Indian politics. Further, it’s the family lineage that works wonder as in case of Rahul Gandhi win over the psyche of the population. The brand Gandhi was predominant across all ages, castes, and above all among different political parties which joined the bandwagon. It was a sheer victory of brand in the minds of the beneficiaries i.e. constituent domiciles, the people of India, at large. Congress party, just like any company, campaigned the ambisously planned product called Rahul as a youth leader; someone who is willing to understand the generation next of India. The strategy was well above the agenda which the congress party had put forward during the campaign and the result is a clear mandate by the people of the nation. From a brand prospective it is certitude win of priceless brand at the cost of the product i.e Congress party (confusing)

Although it is debatable, “Is Brand Congress usurped by Brand Gandhi?” However, going by the results whether it is Rahul and Sonia or Varun and Menka they all won from their respective constituencies. Irrespective of a winning or the loosing party, brand Gandhi was victories in all politically correct grounds. Moreover, it is nobody’s fault- but as a nation we always look for an idol, a demi–God to follow or worship at every moment which turned out to be unprecedented one. Also if we consider other than Congress they all lack brilliance in the brand value to influence enormous geographical area or the ambassador of deliverable identity even though they all had an agenda well recited and well documented. It was indeed the success of brand and the constant phenomenon called ‘change’.

Cluster Branding

I am sick of the word “Economic Downturn” but I / we can’t abate myself/ our self with the effect of it either directly or indirectly. Branding is critical to both marketing and the company’s budget. To make your brand vocal and communicate the offering of your company one need to brand and re-brand. Succumb to situation companies are cutting down its cost of operations be it branding, this in return affecting the advertising and brand management companies. Advertising companies are finding it difficult maintain the CRM in the low cost strategy. Now how you reduce cost in the already reduced clientele.
What i would suggest and foresee is to open a new channel of brand management strategy. Whatever one may call , well i call it Cluster Branding and I will define it as a symbiotic branding strategy wherein the different companies from same fraternity come together to communicate their offerings. To make sense the ad agencies will offer platform to companies in same industry say IT/ MR/ Consultancy/ Auto etc,. and advertise their offerings.
In a B2B scenario when say, companies into Market Research and Consultancy can participate in the ad/ promotion/ also OOH advertising being in the same ad campaign.
Well this might sound impractical considering the fact these companies are competitors to each other. However, for an outdoor B2B platform where the cost is a factor and economies of scale is a sound good factor, ad agencies could woo them to get printed. Also the Nitti gritty can be argued and need to sort out...hence it’s a WIP plan as of now.
coming to the advantage of this would be definitely to do with cost cutting specially in times of crisis. I will explain by giving example …say a big MNC like HP who is into MR and business intelligence and needs to advertise frequently from the HR prospective and also to brand it best in this business, can find it hard to allocate big sum for advertisement. On the other side small company like Infiniti whose core business is MR/CI/BI finds it difficult to allocate budget to advertise itself which is also necessary to stay into the business. Now Cluster Branding would be the solution to it. How??
Bringing both the companies in the same print / outdoor ad platform where both will leverage in terms of cost and in terms of brand identity making their presence currently in the market. Small company will leverage its brand identity by getting associated with the big brand in the same business and big companies will reduce it cost of advertisement in the long run.

BIG B blogged down

Respected sir.....


To sir with Love : Its called Branding

sirji writes Source :http://bigb.bigadda.com/2009/page/2/

A couple of hours, a few damp smelling minutes of those under the English Channel, self mobile operated pictures, early morning French countryside and PARIS..!!
The Salon du Cinema team meets me at the entrance to Paris-Nord station and after an exchange of greetings and flowers and video and stills, out into the wet and cold Paris streets, chased by a huge group of women, who scream and shout and clap, making you wonder what it is that I may have done to receive such an enthusiastic welcome in a country that hardly knows who I am. But, Fouad my driver and sincere personal guide during all my recent visits to the city, gathers me quickly into his car and drives off. They are migrants or asylum seekers from nearby or distant country and are begging he informs me. My ego brought into place I am saddened by their plight. Conditions the world over are so similar. Perceptions differ, but the reality of life and existence, unchanged.
On blog, comments for the film ‘SlumDog Millionaire’ and the anger by some on its contents, prompt me to say the above. If SM projects India as Third World dirty under belly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky under belly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations. Its just that the SM idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not.
The commercial escapist world of Indian Cinema had vociferously battled for years , on the attention paid and the adulation given to the legendary Satyajit Ray at all the prestigious Film Festivals of the West, and not a word of appreciation for the entertaining mass oriented box office block busters that were being churned out from Mumbai. The argument. Ray portrayed reality. The other escapism, fantasy and incredulous posturing. Unimpressive for Cannes and Berlin and Venice. But look how rapidly all that is changing. Retrospectives in Paris and New York. Dedicated TV channels running Hindi cinema on prime timings. Premiers at Leiscester Square, the home of all Hollywood royalty, thronged by hundreds on the street in cold biting weather. Affable recognition at most corners of the universe… And a dear friend from Los Angeles wires in that Hollywood is abuzz with India and the phenomenal talent that exists there. We’re talking cinema still !
DAY 264, response 156, Pooja Srivastava Bannerjee, writes a long exhaustive capital led piece, dripping with sarcasm, undiluted cynicism, pride and arrogance on how their group of fans who visited the outdoor shooting of Abhishek in Orcha wilderness in Madhya Pradesh were denied a ’smile’ and a ‘wave’ from him ! They, who were the wives of Army personnel; personnel that laid down their lives for the nation. They, who bought tickets to our films so we could become who we are. They, that were the contributor to our riches and wealth. How dare, they, who have made us and who if they did not patronize us where we would be, be treated in this manner from Abhishek who, their commander informed was not the typical star but a well behaved individual.
I have given my response to said lady. Apologized on his behalf. Given a background to the lives of artistes and actors on set. Tried to explain the possible circumstances of the situation and left her with a pertinent query.
My endeavor in treating said incident with fairness and a semblance of democratic understanding, coerces me to put the matter up for the extended family to react, reject, advise, comment on it. Would you ?? Thank you.
‘Tis late now ! ‘Tis not so sweet as it was before..
Good Night and Namaskar
...........
comments : http://bigb.bigadda.com/2009/01/12/day-264/#comment-268002

Hi Sir,
Well. I agree about your saying about “a murky under belly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations” however I don’t agree that the movie should not get Globe recognition since SM idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative. The other way as you have mentioned would perhaps not, of course and I am saying this not because I am not proud to be Indian or I doubt the credibility of incredible India! But at the same time one should not forgo the power of Marketing & Brand Building that the WEST had always maintained and the REST has always applauded as when required.Don’t you agree we are so proud to associate our self from whatever walks of life we come from, from whatever fraternity we belong we love to associate ourselves with the WEST?Again let me reiterate what actually making a point is that we welcome and we are so used to welcome foreigners to give us the certificate on whatever we have and whatever we do. Hence SM is not the exception as they have the power of money and marketing ability to gain recognition. They are BRANDED …HOLLYWOODI think we need to portray BOLLYWOOD in the same way as they do and focus on our talent and rather than getting angry on the content of $M coz it is true …..Where are our politically correct people…..

Satyam Hang will be Over

After reading Satyam Hangover: Implications on India's Brand IT in ET http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/Brand_Equity/Satyam_Hangover_Implications_on_Indias_Brand_IT/articleshow/3975604.cms#write

An individual promoter cannot spoil the entire party ....exactly and why we are so concerned with the entire IT industry. Indians have a short lived memory.. what stays is the brand and the brand in the IT sector is not Satyam but the Brand INDIA which is promising and growing .
What has happen is an operational failure in Satyam, what should be remembered is the work which is to be delivered, the service export factor need to go on. Government and eligible officials need to ensure the job of nearly 55000 employees should not be taken. Whether it is Satyam or else who takeover the company should carry on the work...work that maters and the brand equity will be upheld.
I agree that the Big Three will take up the challenge to salvage Brand Indian IT.
As long the company serves the client better the show will go on.

GREEN room

Thanks for reviewing this message in e-form!

This would be the ubiquitous thanks giving sentence when we going through documents in the internet. And organizations are taking it very seriously so you need to take this write up and read this in e-form.

Be it a car manufacturing company or a IT company they are creating a alternate identity for their BRAND …the GREEN BRAND. This is not only an effort for looking for alternate energy or optimizing processes, I believe it will refresh their Brand as a alternate brand identity.
Well I perceives theirs lot of meaning in the word GREEN and the traffic on this road is leading to only prosperity for the future generation

G get
R resources
E energy
E efficient
N now


Get Resources Energy Efficient Now ….HOWZZAT

Get: companies preparing for the change , the way it operate to make it more energy efficient

Resources: the assets/ gadgets/ building/ servers/ products/ etc

Energy :) positive

Efficient: now here lies the challenge to make the above to the optimum /maximum level for better tomorrow

Now! (Enough of seminars)

Quick facts :
Brands need and some are communicating their social purpose investments. Only 40% of consumers around the world say they are aware of any company that actively supports a good cause, and only 33% are aware of a brand that actively support a good cause. In China, awareness of brands that actively support a good cause grew from 55% in 2007 to 68% this year, most likely because of the recent Olympic Games.

Consumers say that if two products are of the same quality and price, commitment to a social purpose (42%) trumps factors like design/innovation (30%) and brand loyalty (27%) when choosing one brand over the other.

Half (52%) of consumers globally are more likely to recommend a brand that supports a good cause over one that does not, and 54% would help a brand promote a product if there was a good cause behind it
----------------------------------------------------
India is also anticipating Green drive by big companies in all forms ….IT companies are banking on the Green datacenters /optimization of resources ..Banks are welcoming the e-formats and reduction of paper works… Car / bike companies are making engines more fuel efficient…
I feel its CSR in its green form and this making waves in its Brand image …
It is realized that consumers would remain loyal to a brand during a recession if it supports a good cause. Well! A person like me will support brand which is advertising for causes like Green and save the earth ….and I am sure there is market for people like me.

It is also seen people in all level and walks of life supporting green phenomenon...I have a quick example of www.potosynthesis.com/ and yes
No one can deny the fact that nearness to nature makes person feels very calm and relaxed.

There are many companies across the world that supports social causes in different ways and they are getting the benefits and consumer attentions. Few are mentioned:

1. innocent drinks "The Big Knit" –
“The Big Knit” has raised more than £370,000 in support of older people in the U.K. who struggle through the cold of winter, an estimated 25,000 of whom die from cold weather-related causes. Proceeds from the sale of special wool-hatted bottles of innocent drinks go to Age Concern, an organization that provides hot meals, room thermometers, warm blankets, safety checking electric blankets, and advice on how to handle rising energy costs.
2. American Express Members Project –
Amex re-launched the program (started in 2007) with the aim to fund programs that will have a positive impact in the world with $2.5 million dollars. The year-one votes were tallied and the winning causes were: 1st - Alzheimers Early Detection, 2nd - Help 100,000 Children Thrive in the Classroom, 3rd - Loans that Change Lives.
3. Yamamay –
Yamamay an Italian underwear brand launched their Yamazonia line by creating a special jute bag to be sold through Yamamay retailers. The proceeds from bag sales go to save the Brazilian Rainforest. The project was linked to the S/S 2008 underwear and beachwear collection inspired by Brazil.

4. The Times of India –
The “Teach India” campaign, organized by the Times of India in conjunction with the UN Volunteers Program, corporate partners and NGOs across India, has attracted 55,000 volunteer teachers – most of them people who give their leisure time to teach underprivileged children. The big brilliant idea is simply that just two hours a week can change a child’s future.

5. Marie Claire –
Marie Claire launched “La Rose Marie Claire” in France promoting education for girls. The campaign ran to coincide with the International Day for Women’s Rights. The campaign raised money to benefit “toutes a l’ecole” which builds schools in Cambodia and “a glance, a child” which awards scholarships.

6. Kiva - Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. The website aims to help real people make strides towards economic independence and improve their own lives and communities.
7. CauseCast - CauseCast is "a one stop philanthropy shop" by TechCrunch where media, philanthropy, social networking, entertainment and education converge to serve a greater purpose. CauseCast enables people who want to do good, want to be inspired, and want to inspire others to connect with kindred spirits, leaders, nonprofit organizations, and brands that inspire them.
8. Google Maps - Google and Brazil's indigenous Surui people have taken mutual social responsibility for preserving threatened rainforest. Surui tribespeople, trained in IT with the help of non-profit Amazon Conservation Team, use sat-nav and Google Maps to record and report illegal mining operations in their territory.

9. Xbox 360 - Game design features for the first time in this year's Microsoft Imagine Cup, a technology design competition where students help address social issues with innovations in software, graphics and more. Competitors in the Xbox Games for Change Challenge can win the chance to have their games (which must feature a message about creating a sustainable environment) made available as downloads in the Xbox LIVE Arcade service or MSN Games.

10. Starbucks - In partnership with the RED campaign, starting November 27, every time you buy a special (STARBUCKS) RED product, a contribution will be made to the Global Fund, to help save lives in Africa.

Man is a Virtual Animal

We human beings are a social and animal sometime...was and will be...if not they we not man may b superman....the point i want to make is now with the pro advent of technology we have different ways of socializing ...however it is not restricted to being connected , its about we are now exposed to communication of all forms...be it sharing ..be it sending sos to the community around us...creating a platform and sense of awareness by being the first or the last person.

At the micro level:

as a busy office going person we hardly get time to know our neighbor next door (if thr are boring persons around..and in case of we see good chic/ chiken i might make wrong assumptions) . More over we have friends, school, college friends far away from our reach so we wonder hw should we connect them...and now we have facebook to orkut..to ibibo, ryze....etc etc so we are vertually connecting ourself and letting our friends and thr friends hw we are doin...hw cool am i and all other crap/ not so crap/ etc

At the macro level:

we are comming close to each other without being close. thanks to the virtual networking sites.
what i understand from the brand perspective ...we are making our presence from a network which has stong "clickfalls" like the retail footfalls and directly or indirectly getting part of the network brand.

Companies are also sensing the importance such social behavorial aspects and are entering into the next level of marketing '''"the viral marketing" inter network marketing.... i feel consumer behave the way want to behave physically and these virtual platforms will the , if not best ..a way to judge the personal orientation of a person ...his desires ...his virtual social connections , communities he/she is in ..will make a marketing judgements easy and it will gonna help the marketers to wooo consumers with stuffs...they like ...


The next time we log in the sites think we log-in the brand

:)

what TASTE better Branded or un Branded Aloo, Piyaanj, Mirchi

Did i say branded aloo (potato), piyaanj(Onion), mirchi (chilli)..........what the fish....
Actually the point here i was making is about consumer power, retail power, brand power. Logically can we brand vegetables (untill its preservative /processed - cames under CPG) . However it is getting branded under the roof of retail stores ..be it reliance fresh, spencer, nilgiris, .... and we i follow the reverse power chain:
Consumer power <-------- retail power <--------- brand power

sorry...will add soon :)

Brand mamta made amar

Na……….No I am not discussing about the killing field singur.
However, political branding is all we have seen all the while. It’s lean mean thin and is always here to stay in. Political rapture is not in the party brand but it’s the personality in the party which moves the brand image of the party. SP or TMC’s agenda who cares but the voice of mamta and amar maters in the market.

Branding in its most widely understood intelligence has always had a role to play in politics. It was the same apna lalooji who moved his party with his persona of nonchalant attitude is now moving the Indian Railways in the vertical limits of the profit. I wonder if anybody know /care about his party agenda but always look forward to his fund(a) he enjoys .

See I couldn’t resist myself from giving examples about Lalooji . I think he is the face of the modern politics Indian Railway sorry Politics have ever produced.
I wonder how many people remember the political party symbol in other word the Brand symbol of the party but we can relate with Singh, Modi, Mamta, Maya, Amma, Chiru, so on…… they are the heartthrob of the party. They are not the party people, of course they are not but they are more than the party.

In the end, it doesn’t even matter who is thinking about the progressive India or India progressing in the politically correct India. What matter is who’s line is it anyways which catches the imagination of the 2/3 rd of India and they decides whose gonna rule the PM/ CM chair.

Its about brand loyalty which pays royalty