Dutch Bus Stop Scale

A billboard by a Dutch Health club that makes you conscious of your weight. Though it is being called something that triggers public humiliation, I really appreciate the "Creative Quotient" of the advert. Worth learning from!

read more | digg story

Sustainability of Modern Retail

An interesting and critical link to understand the challenges faced by Organized retailers in India, and how it is critical to balance debt, equity and internal accruals!

read more | digg story

Contribution Currency in Web 2.0 - How much have you earned?

A great post by Vanessa on Social Media - a 101 on Web 2.0 actually. Going on the concept of "contribution currency" on the Web. She has given a simplistic, yet beautiful difference between Web 1.0 thinking and Web 2.0 thinking - "give instead of take" - worth a read for sure. I like one of the sayings she refers to, by Eric Hoffer, “In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists”. :)

read more | digg story

Happy Birthday Charles Darwin!

Today is the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin – hit upon the event through the Google icon only! But while chain-browsing the links on the greatest face of science, something interesting caught my attention…..the concept of natural selection in the theory of evolution, as explained by Darwin himself, in his Origin of Species

Darwin, during his studies, wanted to determine the ‘specific mechanism’ that permitted animals and plants to change over time. Eventually he realized that the mechanism underlying the process of evolution was that of ‘natural selection’

………… individuals having any advantage, however slight, over others, would have the best chance of surviving and of Procreating their kind? On the other hand, we may feel sure that any variation in the least degree injurious would be rigidly destroyed. This preservation of favourable variations and the rejection of injurious variations, I call Natural Selection. Variations neither useful nor injurious would not be affected by natural selection, and would be left a fluctuating element, as perhaps we see in the species called polymorphic.

How is this relevant to this forum where we mostly talk of the Ps? Precisely, that is the whole point. There are still lessons learnt from this text written almost 150 years ago, on the way forward in Marketing. When we talk of Consumer behavior, what is it that we are studying? Isn’t it nothing but a combination of elements from psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology and economics? Where do sociology and anthropology get it roots from? Maybe, Natural Selection and the theory of evolution aren’t directly related to the Ps of Marketing, but when you map anthropological roots to the symptoms mentioned above, does it ring any bells? Could the entire concept of domestication, natural selection, procreation and evolution help us in not only determining the rationale behind certain behavioral patterns but also identifying variables that help us form a predictive model for the same?

Let me evolve this study a bit more – worth exploring for sure – nothing that has not been explored so far- am sure there are thousands of theories on this already, but a different practical version from a learner is worth exploring, isn't it? Ah! Do I need a Beagle now? ;-)

[Source: Darwin Day, Wikipedia]

Colgate – Don’t Forget (Thailand)

A great outdoor for Colgate on ensuring High Brand Recall and effectively communicating the benefits. Created by Y&R Bangkok for Colgate-Palmolive, the creative reads -

Colgate normally gives out small product samples at annual events like “Oral Health month” to remind target consumers, especially kids to take better care of their teeth after eating sweets. This method does not drive strong results as most consumers tend to forget the message, even if they have collected the samples.

Instead of giving away product samples, Ice cream and cotton candy were given out. The stick carrying the ice cream and cotton candy carries a hidden message. Once consumers are done the message printed on the tip of the stick shaped like a toothbrush reveals “Don’t forget” with the Colgate logo. This simple message effectively reminded consumers to brush their teeth.

For sure, this simple message ensures high recall and that too, through a new smart medium – the candy / ice cream sticks – a new place to do wonders! I am not sure how much this medium has been used before, but it is definitely worth exploring!

Won’t forget, Colgate! ;-)
[Via Best Ads / Source]

Scary Butts…of Cigarettes! (Peru)

Found an interesting effort-intenstive Outdoor campaign on Anti-Smoking. Created by O&M Lima, for their client Liga Contra el Cancer (The Peruvian league to fight cancer) for their no-smoke day

According to BestAds, Using 15,000 cigarettes butts, glued together one by one in an outdoor panel, level to the sidewalk, Ogilvy dramatized the threat that cigarettes represent for a non-smoking person, in this case, a little girl.
A month and half before the campaign, with the help of many volunteers, Ogilvy was able to gather 15,000 cigarettes butts. An artist was in charge of pasting them together and to maintain the essence of the original idea, he painted the little girl in oil paint.

Scary Butts – aren’t they? ;-)
[Via Best Ads / Source]

You oughta know..Inbound Marketing …says Alanis Morissette!

Found an interesting creative at Ravi Kiran’s blog on Inbound Marketing -

As a parody on the famous song by Alanis Morissette, “You oughta know” (watch the original Song here) , the musical takes you through the specifics of Inbound Marketing. Comparing with outbound marketing (TV Ads, Direct Mailers or cold calling), the creative ‘sings’ and musically conveys why and how inbound marketing is beneficial and how can it be made effective.

The lyrics go like “Marketing is like torture as they hang up on you”, “Cold Calls, Direct Mail and TV Ads fail” and “Every time I try to sell, did you know they say you go to hell”. With details like SEO, inbound links, blogging, landing pages, tagging content, and page rankings – the song says it all…..truly, something, we oughta know!

A nice way to use parody to talk about a theoretical topic and explain it so well – Kudos to the creator Rebecca Corliss, of Hub Spot

Incidentally, this creative took me to Hub Spot - An excellent blog on Inbound marketing – worth going in detail and learning about the concept. If you are using online marketing as part of your professional efforts, you can go there before me :)

[Via Bright Secrets and You Tube]

I need MySpace…Literally! (France)

I never knew that there is such a bad Housing Crisis in France until this strong Guerilla campaign hit me at Best Ads.

Made for Foundation Abbé Pierre (France), the objective of the campaign was simple – to raise awareness among the general public and the government of the bad housing crisis in France. It wanted to present an in-your-face reality that thousands of people in France have as little space to live as a car in the street or a bus stand or a billboard - posters of real-size 7m2 (the size of a parking space) apartment were stuck near symbolic sites in paris (The National assembly, The Senate, The count hall, the City Hall, and the Paris Stock Exchange)

They used the space of billboards, parking spaces, bus stands, put real-size posters matching up to the actual space that people managed to stay within, demonstrating the struggle for space within the country. As you can see in these pictures, the way it was communicated, instant connect could be established with the intent of the posters, thereby getting sensitized to the issue at hand. And that’s all what the campaign set out to do!

Although the theme seems to have been used earlier (Amnesty International Campaign TBWA, Poland), this guerilla campaign has managed to not only communicate the real issue, but also connect with the appropriate framework as well, quite effectively.

Great Execution – the campaign received exceptionally wide multimedia coverage and appreciation for its operation, and deservingly so. So before you log on to MySpace, I hope we realize that there is a set of people for whom, these words carry a totally different meaning altogether!

[ Via Adsoftheworld Ad 1, Ad 2, Ad 3 & Best Ads]

Durex - Animals having a "Ballooning" pleasure..

Bumped into another nice creative on Durex (had earlier posted an out of the box piece and another creative ambient. Whatever the brand signifies, I really appreciate the out-of-the-box ideas the agency (Fitzgerald + Co, from Atlanta) comes up with.

From a creator's perspective, it seems like someone built upon his "pervert" cells while playing with the product in the office...can visualize someone playing with these pieces, and doing different interesting things with it to attempt a creative...

Must say, nice output - you DID IT...the creative I mean :)
(seems like your "pervert" cells never stop working, eh?)

Here is the link to the ad. Have a nice watch....Parental Guidance advised!

By the way, do you know where did the brand derive its name from? "durability, reliability and excellence" :)

[Via Martina's Adverblog]

An Ad of Ad (agencies) – Did the Fox Pass?

I am not an ardent follower of advertising agencies – I simply admire their creativity, and respect the marked improvement agencies have made in the quality of their work. However, rarely have I seen agencies applying their own creativity on themselves. So when I noticed this piece from Rediffusion, Mumbai, I could not stop talking about it.

The ad is for the promotion of the yearly Brand Equity Agency Reckoner, published by Economic Times to enlist advertising agencies, rating them across relevant parameters, relative to each other.

The event has built a blog as well around it, but does not pick anything exciting from the ad circles. It would have definitely created more buzz, had it been built more strongly, and engaged a larger audience. There are other interesting ads as well uploaded on the blog, that reflect an out-of-the-box attempt - However, this one is definitely an impressive one

For now, look at the “Fox Pass” of the advertising world – the biggest blunders made in common work life of agencies - an interesting list for sure. By the way, how many of these blunders do you yourself commit even today? (I do 5!)

More on the event can be read at ET

Ramblings for my own sake…

The previous phase is moving to its closure – the phase that ignored the Ps – the phase that did not have a place for this expression. As a result, even though a conscious effort was made to keep the breathing alive - I knew this was in a semi-conscious state. The phase isn’t yet over, but the closure is visible – not the end of this phase, but definitely the beginning of another.

The phase was full of reflection – of establishing an identity within a system – and then, of forming a framework that breathes its life of its own – of revival of a white elephant. Now, as it begins breathing on its own – as it moves closer to forming a self-sustaining system – it is time for one to pause, take a deep breath, and reflect….

The old set of challenges would drift away and new ones would emerge – priorities would always remain priorities – and as long as passions are attached to those priorities – they won’t come down – they would always be cleped as “top priorities”. But at the point of reflection – one needs to realize that perspectives matter – perspectives that ignite passion to express – for me as a blogger, and you as a reader – passion to absorb beyond the obvious – passion to build that extra brick of perspective over anything that excites you – and then, sometimes, proudly claim that brick to be yours – it is this passion that is being tested now – a test that would truly and deeply be judged by you – by me, and by the very nature of itself – the test that rightly shall earn back its own identity, the test that was once called – “Read Between the Ps”!

So, here is another attempt to come out of the cycle of enforced P of priorities - and move towards the P of perspective on the P of my passions :)

P.S. – If you cannot make sense of anything mentioned above – its good – I never wanted you to! :)

[Pic Source]

The evolving cartoon - From Silent Spectator to Energetic Athlete! (India)

Cartoons and caricatures have long been one of the best modes of expression – to voice out the sentiment of the public, to express implicit reactions, and to use satire to get your point of view across. One strip that has done this wonderfully for generations (since 1961) has been RK Laxman’s most famous Common Man’s strip “You said it” – There was a time when we used to look forward to the daily strip in the Times of India whenever something happened, for the strip reacted responded effectively on any issue – truly echoing the sentiment of the public - it mocked at the current issues at hand, but ensured it made relevant points strongly. Such was the power of print media then.

Then came our dear Amul Moppet, coming out with silent billboards almost every fortnight that talked about issues at hand, or latest Bollywood or Cricket gossip – taking a topic every time, and interpreting it in a humorous manner – called “topicals” by the Da Cunhas. Instant connect was what this girl executed fantastically, something that exists even today. Be it the recent fuel hikes or the trust vote of the government or the presidential nominations for the country’s leadership – Moppet has managed to grab a part of the attention pie for itself every time.

However, as the consumer evolves, so does the media – as consumers today move into the digital world, one needs to evolve into more engaging ways of communication – more involving ways to articulate one’s point of view. This has led to media entering the digital era as well, with cartoons translating into online games and caricatures translating into virtual moving icons!

Talking of icons, every point needs a story, and every story needs a character – so while earlier it was the Common man, and then the Moppet, now it is the central character or the hero, which we, as players, enact! And how do you find the hero? With a comprehensive search for strong impressionable icons around us, one can naturally think of one such personality who manages to develop an aura around him every time – and is at the centre of most of the controversies – for why not – he is holding the prime minister’s office – our very own Dr. Manmohan Singh!!

Dr. Singh has a huge fanfare of cartoonists – who have managed to make him do almost everything possible – from balancing on a rope to running behind Sonia Gandhi to running from a flurry of ministers – he seems to be the talk of the cartoon town! So much so that one academy, Kerala Cartoon Academy, is even publishing a rare collection of 123 cartoons on him soon. And guess what? Maybe the hero himself would be there to release the book!

Coming back to the digital world - So how do you ensure instant connect, as well as top of the mind recall for the target audience in online games? – Simple – mix the most connectable bollywood flavor with the most impressionable politics, and you get a fine mix of top of the mind games – something that the new game on our Dr. Singh has excellently managed to do (and why not, if you get 300000 users within 3 days of launching, you better take this as the “right” mix!)

Reports Monika Adlakha from Hindustan Times,
"Games2Win’s online game ‘Singh is King’ tracks the PM’s political career. And the obstacles in the game are out of India’s recent political past – from the Indo-US nuclear deal, to farmer suicides, the communist parties, spiraling inflation, rising oil prices, crashing markets and allegations of cash for vote."

Have a look at some of the snapshots of the game. Obviously, nothing beats real action and experience of playing this yourself! The game has been smartly described as “He's smarter than your average PM and this time he's truly proven that Singh is King!”



Definitely, the face of the Indian citizen has changed – from the times of the silent spectator in the form of the Common Man, to the energetic athletic Singh, who does not act dumb when politicians talk openly about bribing or their lethargic affinities, but overcomes all the challenges enthusiastically, jumps and tugs wherever required, runs athletically, and eventually, defies his opposition by wearing the crown, and deservingly claiming the throne – with true style of a Real King!


Want to get in his shoes virtually? Click here to feel like the PM for some time! – But mind you, if you still think you can stand like a silent spectator, try it...you might just get lifted by the opposition if you aren’t fast enough! ;-)

[via Hindustan Times - reported by Monicca]

AT&T (U.S.) – Best for any carrier..but not the brand!

There are some campaigns that get your attention and your “share of wallets” as well – and there are some campaigns that manage to just get your attention, but get ignored by the latter.

Most of these campaigns get your attention, not because of the brand, but because of their innovative execution & excellent creatives – very few, however, of them manage to ensure even the brand recall at the end of it. Such campaigns, at best, can be appreciated and blogged about, and that’s where they stay for most part of their lives (till the time they get archived!)..

One such campaign is for AT&T coverage, done by BBDO Atlanta/New York, titled “the best coverage of any carrier worldwide” – Have a look at the set of 6 creatives, representing various “exceptional” geographies in which AT&T is present (200 to be specific) – China, India, Japan, Zimbabwe, Jamaica and Egypt.

Undoubtedly, one of the finest work of art I have seen till now – a perfect blend of mapping geographies with stereotypes / indicators – ensuring instant connect with the country. Unfortunately, however, that is where the recall ends, and there is no semblance with the brand per se.

They probably could not catch the signal of this one, eh? ;)

[Source: Ads of the world]

The Hungry Child, The Thirsty Child – Do we really care?

I have earlier talked about the problems of deprived children and the solutions that the marketing world has offered - how NGOs/ ad agencies have been brilliantly communicating their problems, adapting innovative ways and tools to connect to the social world. Be it about providing shelter to homeless children or pushing them out of begging, or fighting against Child Labor, campaigns have always managed to get a lot of attention, and possibly encouraged a lot of us to come forward and contribute in solving the issues at hand.

What such campaigns fight against is not to apprise us of the issues and communicate the problem – today, all of us are cognizant of the problems around us, the problems these deprived souls face - but to fight in breaking the barriers that we consciously setup, the shells we hide into, the walls of “conscious social ignorance” that our built around us - where we attempt to ignore and work around these social issues for our own convenience.

All said and done about the communication bit, what remains to be evaluated is to quantify the output of such efforts – too much and too many is always what you hear / read, but “how much and how many” always remains in the grey world. This time, however, I managed to not only get campaigns, which are directionally in the same line of thought – how to get disadvantaged children out of hunger or thirst, but also the impact such campaigns have made on the social world.

Though these campaigns are taken from different parts of the world, be it shopping carts in South Africa, or shopping bags in Germany, or Studios in Brussels, Belgium, all of them make the same point – help children grow and nurture their childhood.

The first set of campaigns have leveraged shopping tools, including the cart and the poly bags to articulate the problem of hungry children

The campaign on shopping carts entailed placing…

..decals of hungry, begging street children at the bottem of supermarket shopping trolleys bearing the Feed SA (charity behind the mission) website and the line. “See how easy feeding the hungry can be?”. Any food placed into the trolley appeared to be given to the child. Collection tins were also placed at the till points and bins for food contributions were positioned at exits. Their message was seen by hundreds of shoppers every day for the cost of a few decals, resulting in a marked increase in donations and a significant boost in website traffic (Agency: TBWA)
[Via I believe in Advertising and Direct daily]

The other campaign picked a similar tool – the shopping bags, and put pics of begging children on them. The tagline read, “120.000 children in Berlin are suffering from hunger. Donate food” – Less strong than the previous one, but effective nonetheless. [via Ads of the world]

The next one – more of a guerilla than an ambient, from Red Cross and Studio Brussels, picked on live television as the medium to make a point, injecting a black boy to interrupt prime time live shows, who ran into the discussion / news rooms and what did he do there – drank the glass of water that was naively kept at the table – something that we conveniently ignore during our social interactions!! Point – Small things that we discount matter a lot to the poorer part of the world. “Every 15 seconds a child dies due to lack of drinkable water!!” It is part of our responsibility to help out and save these kids, ensuring atleast minimal drinkable water to them… And did it succeed in making this point – Well, on records, the campaign titled, “Thirsty Black Boy” managed to raise 3.3 million euros from the 6 days of its launch – must say, it did ring the bells (and pockets) of quite a few of the Belgian citizens!!

Read through the campaign sheet below to get more details:

Must say, marketing is not just about talking, right? ;-)
[Via Ads of the world / Motor Brigade]

Energizer – Never Let their Toys Die, or.. (South Africa)

I just read some quite interesting facts about how the brains of women work, but there is something to be added in that entry,so might post that by tonight or tomorrow. Meanwhile, found an equally interesting piece on kids this time – and how a brand has leveraged insights into kids’ psyche to promote its brand.

And guess what it is about? Not diapers or food items, not chocolates or balloons, not games or toys, but the batteries on which their toys run – Energizer batteries, and how critical they are to a child’s growth – in ensuring that his/her highly energized brains stay constructive, keeps them occupied and do not distract them to resorting to naughty pranks like these…

..so much so to put it professionally – but worth the insights, and worth the effort. How else do you think you can market batteries to kids/parents? Brilliant execution! The agency that did this creative, was deservingly awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes as well.

DDB South Africa won the Grand Prix for this campaign titled “Never let their toys die” and why? The creatives speak for themselves!

[Via Ad land]

Out of the Box...and Thinking!

Time has passed. Things have moved ahead. But the “Chinese Irony” still remains at the top of my entries. Maybe, a lot of entries have assumed so much importance before, but this one seemed to hurt a little more than the previous ones. At least when I was offered to sell my blog because it seemed I am no longer interested in it!!

Well, no more sabbatical for this blog – maybe a few off days would be more of the norm as my understanding goes – more of the professional calling if so. But no so long that I am made another selling offer! No way.

So much to say – I am out of the box, and thinking!

Taking the out of the box and thinking part forward, this is a nice piece that leverages today’s occasion of Father’s day wonderfully, to ensure a strong recall, even though, it hits out at its competition. This piece has been doing the ad-blog rounds for quite some time, since I have seen this print before as well. Nonetheless, worth picking it up again – maybe to get cues on more creative ideas!

The print ad by Durex condom reads, “To all those who use our competitors’ products: Happy Father’s Day”

Smart out-of-the box thinking!

[Via Ad Punch]

China: World’s Largest Irony-producing nation!

Ask anyone about China, and more often than not, you would get few catch words like “Increasingly Progressive” or “Biggest economy with youth getting more and more westernized” or “Conservative yet fastest growing” .. Walk into the streets of Shanghai and a strange contrast would hit you in your face – “Modernized westernized youth” along with “conservative” elders, progressive culture coupled with core Chinese values, openness but within restricted norms, or westernized business aspirations camouflaged under socialist intentions and termed as, what’s my favorite, “Capitalistic Socialist Economy” – that is today’s China…wow! Indeed, this is China…. Consciously confusing but sub-consciously ironic!

And if you haven’t got enough to nod at this point of view, munch on and you would figure out where is this coming from.

This incident is a recent one picked from the media & advertising sector - how the government played around for their own convenience and satisfaction, and how, this incident left all the critiques once again affirm their understanding on Chinese stance – Ironic!

On one hand, China wants to spread awareness about AIDS and control it from spreading – it wants to tell people how safe sex is important. How? One of the stunts applied was, guess what, making dresses out of condoms! Some 6 months back, a fashion show was organized in Beijing (to celebrate the 18th World Population Day), where outfits were made out of condoms as main materials by university students along with Condom factory workers. (Coverage) Indeed, as you click on the dresses, you would infer that it was indeed a commendable effort to spread awareness through this medium. I am sure the government would have supported this cause, and cleared the performance, thereby, demonstrating its openness and progressive nature.

From what I have learnt, one needs the government consent for almost everything (yes, factor in all your weird pervert thoughts, when I say “EVERYTHING!”).

But when the same "progressive" government witnessed a rather open expression of nudity and sex in a movie, it fell against their cultural values, and really perturbed the officials, so much so that they decided to take extreme action – not against the movie makers who wrote the script, not against the director who directed the scenes, not against the hero who tore off the actress’s clothes, but, against the actress, who in her debut film made an attempt to enact a strong character symbolizing betrayal, lust and passion, and er, yes, who exposed!

Ms. Tang Wei, in her debut film, “Lust, Caution” plays the role of a student activist who seduces a Japanese spy during Japan's occupation of Shanghai in World War II and ultimately betrays her country. The film sensitizes the audiences to the differences between Japan and China during World War II, and also depicts nudity in the movie.

So what was the action taken? Though the movie scenes were cut almost instantly when the movie was released (almost 7 months back), but this was not enough. The government wanted to make the action much more pronounced, and ah, Ironic! So they went ahead, and announced all forms of bans on the actress…banning any ads featuring the actress in radio, film or print; excluding her name from any guest lists for award shows in China; and removing all the discussions about the film or the actress on online forums;

The biggest Loser? Unilever, who signed on the actress with a $845,000 contract for the endorsement of Pond’s and be the face of Pond’s in the mainland (which is a big skin-care market). This was a move to reposition Pond’s as an upscale brand in Asia, and involved local celebrities across Asia. With this ban being enforced, chances are that Unilever might end up throwing the investment in junk! (as mentioned in an Adage article covering this story, “Chinese Pond’s Ads Under ‘Caution’")

The irony of such action is perfectly summarized in one of comments posted in response to the entry Anyone who has ever been naked is banned in China that mocked at the ban, “Nudity is also illegal on the radio in China. “Turn the volume up. I think they’re naked”! ;)

Read the post too – perfect to make a point! How purchasing decisions would be impacted… “because the person who endorsed the brand actually posed nude in her movie, so let me buy this cream, and pose nude elsewhere!” wow! Only some iron-brains can think of such great logic!

“The Chinese government feels that Tang Wei's sexy nude scenes in the film render her unfit for advertising. Heaven forbid the people of China be influenced in their skin cream purchasing decisions by a fellow citizen who was once naked—China got its population of 1.3 billion strictly through asexual reproduction”

According to lawprofessors.com, a snapshot of the course of events that took place have been presented, that perfectly highlights what the government wants:

On March 9, … the vice director of the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT), the brains behind these actions,.. said, "This policy is directed at subject matter, not people."…
… On March 18, a relevant person at SARFT, during a media interview, said that SARFT had not "completely banned" Tang Wei, but was simply not encouraging the continued expansion of her influence. Tang Wei was a good actress, but many young people thought that they could be like her and strip their way to fame; this could easily have a negative effect on the maturation of young people.

Wow! By looking / hearing Tang Wei apply Pond’s cream, a lot of youth might get negatively influenced and strip their way to fame!

Have a look at the movie trailer to get a “sneak peak” into the obscene and vulgar corrupted scenes that Tang Wei dared to perform, and do what no Chinese woman has ever dared to do – expose!

Convinced about the nudity and explicit sex in the movie? :) Agreed that the movie might raise tensions between the two nations, or might instigate the youth against something negative, but what has Unilever or Ms Tang got to do with it?

Well, it does! Seemingly, for this ad, Unilever consciously chose Ms Tang, who was already grappling with the controversies around her banned movie. Why then, did Unilever, or Ogilvy for that matter, choose Wang? More so, why does the TV spot show the actress using Pond's as she gets dressed and made up on a 1930s movie set, the same era as "Lust, Caution" is set in, when they know that the movie is controversial?

Call it a PR stunt, or plain luck, the brand has definitely got good visibility – not through advertisements, but through discussions around banning of the advertisement, discussions around the celebrity and discussions around the rationale behind this exercise.

Maybe, Unilever has taken a cue from Benetton! But whatever said and done, what seemed to be banned and less talked about, has ended up being talked and mocked all over the globe – ending up in achieving what an advertisement aspires to achieve – “attract consumer attention” – This ad, for all it’s worth, has managed to exceed all its expectations from advertisers/ marketers, without any “lust” and now, without any “caution” too!

So, were we discussing Ironies? ;)

Source: Photo Source Link 1, Link 2, Link 3; References: Hollywood, Adage, You Tube

FMCG in India – went Rural and now growing there too!

FMCG Industry in India is witnessing a change – a change in the pattern in which it is growing – needless to say, with the changing demographics, the pattern of marketing would also change. As rural penetration increases, the rural markets would command more and more share of the overall FMCG space. Though the urban markets are growing too, the incremental addition in consumers / households is much more in rural space as compared to urban markets.

According to an article in Mint, posted a couple of months back, not only have the media investments by FMCG companies moved towards rural India, but also a larger piece of the cake has started coming from the rural belt itself.

Rural India, mostly termed as “high opportunity” market, is no longer just an opportunitiy, but is now yielding results. As the article mentions, “180 million rural and semi-urban people’s attention has already been diverted towards FMCG products, according to latest estimates released by industry chamber, Assocham” and why is that? “In the first nine months of current fiscal, FMCG’s ad budget witnessed an increase of nearly 20% to promote FMCG products which is influencing and motivating the rural youth to consume higher volumes of such products.”

But are more media investments and greater rural contribution connected? Well, one could attribute that to media. But then there is also a bigger reason, which seems to be more pragmatic in the given circumstances, and that is, the REACH. Reaching to those 6-lakh odd villages has always been the biggest barrier, and this is something that is now being overcome by most of the giants now. With each of them following their own models, distribution has been the focus to tap the rural consumer’s big fat wallet, which is gradually paying out.

As per my limited understanding, media was always there. The same consumer watched most of the TV serials his urban counterpart did, witnessed the same ads his counterpart skipped, and aspired for the same things/people his urban brethren did. The only difference was - he never could / intended to purchase those brands (which he thinks are products).

Translating those aspirations into purchases, to me, has been the biggest success in the rural markets today – and that is the core reason for this change of pattern. More so, when patterns move to trends, one can safely assume that half of the work is done.

And what are these trends?
- Market for FMCG products in rural India is estimated at 52% & is projected to touch 57% by end March'08
- In semi-urban segment, present FMCG market size is around 19% and is expected to scale up by 6% to touch 21% by end of current fiscal

What is a positive signal is that the churn rates are much lower in rural markets as compared to their elder brothers sitting in the top class towns, which is a good indicator for the organizations. Once added, their likelihood of sticking to you is far greater that what it is in the urban space.

What remains to be seen is the impact of media on these consumers, and if, with the changing trends, if the low churn rates would also show a different direction.

Incidentally, it is not just volumes we are talking here – because of the numbers, the overall value contribution has exceeded the urban contribution – “Domestic FMCG total size in terms of volume is currently $15 billion, of which $7.9 billion is rural contribution as against $4.2 billion of urban and metros while $2.85 billion is semi-urban FMCG market"

Lastly, something to chew on … Most of us have a perception of rural as presented in these pictures. Is this always the case? Does Rural mean poor all the time? As the article mentions, “Over 70% sale of FMCG products is made to middle class households and over 50% of middle class is in rural India.”

So, as long as the growth in coming from “consuming” those consumer goods (and not the way I had mentioned sometime back [Sales sans Marketing in Rural India]), more and more rural consumers are finally coming out and re-purchasing those brands, spurring a growth in the overall FMCG space.

Still wondering if rural India is all about Farming and Cows? ;)

Outdoor Advertising - Nothing left to Imagination!

Whenever a new medium emerges, marketers run behind it, exploiting it till the time it is coined as “common media” or till the time their infatuation with that medium is over. Look around, and you would say the same thing for newspapers, magazines, and now Billboards as well.

Initially, they were billboards – just plain simple billboards. An advertiser just wanted to stand next to the road. Not speak anything, but simply stand. If someone passed by, he would talk silently, without caring much if the other person listened or not.
Then slowly, more people came, and everyone wanted to stand next to the road. The bigger ones then wanted to move a step further. They shouted! Some….just went on the road itself!

And so emerged much more aggressive forms of Outdoor Advertising - ambient, guerilla, virals and so on and so forth

What is exciting about Ambients? Well, if nothing, they do grab attention. And some of them move into the viral phase as well, creating more and more attention. The takeaway? Am not sure how much recall the brand has, but the ambient for sure gets a lot of eyeballs rolling.

But what is special with Billboards? First and foremost, if creatively used, billboards offer a lot of flexibility. This flexibility, leveraged by creative innovations of advertising masterminds, is what separates the effective billboards from the dead ones you notice around you. Unfortunately, very few advertisers understand that a billboard that is seen for not more than 2-3 seconds, needs to be smartly as well as effectively used.

Having said that, there are few advertisers who have applied this flexibility of Billboards and ambients to perfection and are undoubtedly classic examples of creative excellence.

Consider, for instance, the latest creation by Duval Guillaume*, for Carlsberg. It is to advertise the new Carlsberg bottle design, and is presented in a rather unique manner, by putting the new bottles themselves! As they say – for the bottles, by the bottles!



Apart from Duval’s Carlsberg, there are other creations too, that are worth mentioning. Found the links at Adrants, where Steve has linked to the previous similar outdoors highlighted at his blog – Leo Burnett’s Lettuce garden billboard for McDonalds and Ella Bache’s Peach Lady in the garden for its skincare brand.

While Leo Burnett worked on representing Freshness and greenness in the McDonald’s Fresh Salad, by putting lettuce leaves on the billboard, Ella Bache took a step further, and made an entire naked lady out of Peaches and put her in Sydney's First Fleet Park. Have a look -

Loads of interesting points/coverage on this lady - undoubtedly, there is nothing left to imagination! Refer to the links** below for more.

Coming back to the billboard application, an interesting perspective was expressed at one of the posts on Lettuce Billboard -

"It's unfortunate most agencies and marketers don't realize the billboard medium is at its most powerful when it's used for simple, direct messaging. Two to four words and a simple visual is about all the medium can take. Too many marketers and agencies try to cram the entire marketing plan onto a single 14 X 48 foot space which is usually seen for less than three seconds. For billboards, simplicity rules."

Well said. Arguably, as billboards get simpler, the feel factor that was never even in the consideration set for billboards, is beginning to emerge, and one can not only imagine the brands, but also see/feel the advertised brands, through billboards/ambients.

And with examples such as the carlsberg bottles, the lettuce leaves and the naked lady, must say, there is little that is left to imagination!

Pun intended! ;)


*Duval, of Antwerp Agency, has been featured at this place before, for its Cadbury Shweppes Fountain Bottle earlier
**For more details, you could refer to the write-ups at various blogs / sites:
Lettuce Billboard, Peach Lady: Commercial Archives, Adrants and the making of the video (worth a download))
[Photo Source: Peach Lady, Carlsberg Bottles and Fresh Salad, Human Billboard]

Aaah....Good Morning! Too late to get up?

This blog has been sleeping for long now...pretty long! Maybe the blogger too. Atleast that is what I have been hearing, and getting comments about.

On one hand, it is great to find regulars visiting my den, even during its dormant days (months!) but on the other hand, the sleep has been fairly long now...probably a lot of regulars moved to the occasionals club!

Anyways, I intend to rejoin the regulars club, and hope to find more members there to give me company..

Needless to say, while I was sleeping I did not waste my time and dreamt a lot :). Some of it can be written here, some can simply be applied. With time, I would share a lot of my dreams - atleast the ones that are helpful to the larger and saner mortals...

I just got up this morning, with loads of energy and that freshness that sensitizes you to the world around you – that positive smell of freshness that one aspires to internalize, that translates not only to your thought process but also to your passion and perspectives.

So with all the freshness intact, another attempt to revitalize this place begins today..

..maybe thats just what they say for "The all New XXX" series or the sequels of the long pending serials/movies, when they get too droning ;-)

[Links to Pics: Baby Sleeping, misplaced the link to the baby in hand pic. In case you happen to come across the source, please let me know. Will link to it. Thanks!]

Banner Ads - Can't Stop Clickin'em..

Another 45-day hiatus... No reasons and no explanations. Priorities entailed a different orientation. Period. However, passion overwrites priorities once again, and here I am, working on another aspect of Marketing...

Before I talk on something on Marketing per se, just noticed this wonderful set of Banners, at one of my favorite Banner-ads' site - Banner Blog - Excellent compilation of Banner Ads across the globe - a must see for anyone who can appreciate creativity...

Picture some of the classic ones - my top 3 favorites from the past month's collection - - one that displays the name of a coffee brand through beans (Suplicy Coffee), one that draws an interesting analogy to reinforce "stability" of a car on any sort of terrain (Citroen C5) and the final one on Mach3 Turbo, that gives you an online experience of smooth shaving!

Have a look at the website - great example of another form of advertising in the virtual universe...

Is your share price increasing? Maybe it’s because your CEO blogs!

Most of us would have felt most of the time that though we have the minimum possible free time with the maximum possible work, our CEO is the person who has the maximum possible free time with the minimum possible work. And that minimum possible work is also passed on in the least possible time!

Well, for those of you who are humming with a nod in agreement, here is something that should keep him occupied finally – make him blog!

Today, when we talk of the CEO – he is the person who essentially drives the business or leads the drivers of the business, ensuring complete employee satisfaction and optimum utilization of the processes and resources. Naturally, he is at the helm of the organization, and therefore, his word, his inputs and his perspectives, would represent the orientation of his organization as well. So, a representation of the same in the online world – essentially blogging, would be of interest to anyone interested in the business of the organization as well!

In an article in the Times dated 8th August, Playing Footsie with bloggers, Bernhard Warner talked in detail about the impact of a CEO talking in the virtual world.

Any stakeholder would ideally give a lot of credibility to the top notch of the organization, than a “global” word from the communications department. Be it investors, fund managers, customers, suppliers, shareholders or employees, the level of clarity and transparency in the system is far greater when the chief executive talks openly. What he talks and how much he talks is a secondary issue which can be discussed later, but one thing is certain – the credibility increases the moment he talks – just talks!.

More so, most of the blogs are person-centric, and not necessarily community centric. Hence, a CEO blogging would naturally entail a person-centric approach of enhancing organizational credibility. As mentioned in this article, “a company that embraces the openness and transparency blogging brings, will enjoy a competitive advantage over a company that doesn’t”

Bernhard also compared CEO blogs vis-à-vis Corporate blogs, which, according to him, are mere extensions of the marketing department. Truly so, most of the Corporate Blogs focus more on PR and online presence, than on quality communication per se. For them, the stakeholders only comprise the Customers and no one else.

What, then, does the CEO talk about? The relevance of new ideas, their applicability, a competitor analysis, future outlook, current issues, apprehensions, market forces, business practices and current industry orientation are pointers that any stakeholder would look forward to. So, any flavor of any of the above would definitely be relevant and purposeful in the online as well as the offline world.

Fine. So you made your CEO blog and your managed a strong PR and good credibility in the market with whatever he could contribute. Now, what do I do with this?

It might just be a hobby or an interest of the CEO who has a flair for writing, or it might just be another PR gimmick. But considering all possible exceptions - under normal circumstances and in plain simple terms, “Is this helping my business at the end of the day”?

As has been put nicely in the article – “Any long-term investor would value a transparent chief executive. But, of course, honesty and openness alone are no guarantee for job security. The leader of a listed company is judged of course by share price, not trackbacks and RSS subscriptions.”

Rightly so, there has to be some tangible return from the time investments a CEO makes in writing. And yes, there is! According to the study conducted by Bernhard, 7 out of 10 companies witnessed their share prices go up since the company began blogging! That’s a direct 70% hit rate!

Obviously, the others in the company were also doing something all this while. So, the share prices are not just because of blogging. But still, even though there is no direct equation that a CEO blogging would entail a rise in share prices, it also doesn’t hold completely invalid. Inference? Simple. A CEO blogging has an advantage over a CEO not blogging!

Final quote from Bernhard’s piece: "A host of studies show that investors are more loyal to companies that adopt a straightforward and transparent tone with all stakeholders, from investors to customers. And blogs, if they actually say something, can have an impact on managing investors’ expectations, which is the only true way of capitalising on positive news and minimising the toll of negative news"

So, finally, there is some task defined for the CEO, which he HAS to do himself (as of now!) ;-)

The sampling included 10 companies – Reuters, L’Oreal, Sun Microsystems, Rediff.com, Ducati Motors, General Motors, Benetton, Boeing, Southwest Airlines and Marriott International. Headquartered in India, London, Paris, Milan and the United States, each company has been blogging for at least six months. Shares in seven of the ten firms are up since the company began blogging.

For a list of some of the prominent CEO blogs, you can link to this site. Feel free to share more if you want to!

Ad Age Power 150 - Best Marketing Blogs

Recently came across the Power 150 list from Adage – Some of the Best Marketing Blogs in the world

An excellent compilation by Todd Andrlik, listing down 393 top blogs of passionate marketers – something that I would keenly study, over the next few months.

If you are a window-blogger and prefer to blog-browse rather than blog, this is the list you should start with!

Interactive Shopping for Kids: Make a Bear – Take the Bear (India)

Indian consumers are quickly moving out of the “neighborhood kirana-stores” mindset and getting acculturated to organized shopping malls. Be it the product availability, the experience, the ambience or simply, the lure of an air-conditioned hang-out place – consumers no longer want to spend time outside under the sun or shopping in sweaty shops!

Talking of shopping malls – malls in India have evolved and are no longer just a shopping destination, but thanks to Martin Lindstrom and his work on Sensory Branding, ambience now plays a critical role in shopping. As a result, shoppers want to spend as much time as they can in the malls – shop, eat, drink, sleep, play around, flirt, and do everything else that is practically possible to do in broad daylight!

As these mall-crazy shoppers become parents, they want their kids also to get more used to malls – maybe a bit more than their homes too!!

So, what’s new being offered to them? Retailers, in order to tap this opportunity, want the kid-shoppers to engage with their stores, their products, and the ambience that facilitates (if not expedites) this purchase processes.

According to a recent article in the Economic Times, this ideology is being applied by Shoppers’ Stop in Delhi (Rajouri Garden) and is called the the Build-A-Bear Workshop. It provides an interactive mall-based activity for kids to create their own stuffed toys. This entails higher involvement of the kids in their purchase activity, by making them participate in every stage of the making their own stuffed toys. As mentioned in the article, the store..

“…allows customers — who are referred to as guests — to go through various stages of activity in creating their own teddy bear (or other stuffed toy), including choosing a stuffed animal, stuffing it, giving it a heart, stitching, fluffing, naming and dressing it. And though the toys are priced at a premium level ranging between Rs 595 and Rs 1,295 for a stuffed animal and add-ons such as sound chips, clothes and accessories coming at extra cost — the interactive shopping experience also adds on an element of entertainment for young customers and can turn into a family affair as well.”

Interactive Shopping, as it is called, attempts to capitalize on the involvement level of kids with their toys, and also, address the gap created by inability of shop-o-maniacs to whet their shopping appetite because of their kids. The kids are also involved into something constructive, and the shoppers can get their own time, too – watching themselves in the mirror trying different outfits!

Sometime back, I had discussed the various ways in which marketers market to women. One of them took special note of women with kids and customized offerings for the shopping convenience of their customers. As I had mentioned,

“the store design and the ambience are essential elements of a purchase cycle for most of the women . They consider aesthetic sense as a primary determinant of any outlet, which reflects in its offerings and services. Thus, when it comes to women shoppers, we need to move into an entirely “experiential system” and environment”

Taking a cue from this experiential system, marketers at Shoppers' Stop have done a commendable job in creating an experience around their products, engaging the kids with the product (which, of course, would subsequently translate into sales!) as well as give the shopper her time to purchase even more than she would expect to!

So, next time you plan a visit to the place to buy clothes for yourself, you need not request your neighbors to play cricket with your kids! He may as well go and make a mama bear for himself! ;-)

The Art of Creativity - Applied in Advertising (Brazil)

Found this nice piece of creativity at advertising for peanuts. A fine example of how simple concepts of design can communicate a strong social message. Made for CVV (Suicide Prevention Center) by Leo Burnett, Sao Paulo (Brazil), the campaign symbolizes how the best person to help you in your times of trouble is you yourself. Hence, the campaign “Help Yourself”

Incidentally, found an interesting blog, Mer-chan, whose author, Katy, had identified a similar design piece created by Peter Callesen.
Peter’s work - designs made by cutting sheets of paper – seems to have inspired the creators of this campaign.

Katy mentioned in her post that the work of the artist from Denmark would have either designed the posters himself or would have inspired the admen….both in Brazil as well as in China

Nonetheless, excellent pieces of design - in fact, I would recommend any aspiring designer to visit Peter's website and learn how he has created wonders out of simple sheets of paper.

Commendable work indeed!
[via Advertising for Peanuts]