Read Between the Ps

It is not uncommon for budding prospective Marketers to use jargon before they use marketing. Since I am a potential candidate for the above consideration set, I found it pertinent to get some clarity on the terminologies and their application. Found some really nice Guerillas at the ad blogs I frequently visit – Coloribus and Twenty Four . Before I talk/put those campaigns, let me attempt to talk a bit about the concept per se. Guerilla Marketing is a marketing initiative that involves minimum cost for maximum impact . Coined by Jay Conrad Levinson , guerilla marketing is more about matching wits than matching budgets. Wikipedia explains the concept in more detail. It talks about certain principles and communication media, which I have preferred to discount, to avoid restricting my perspective on the same. Where do Viral Marketing and Ambient Marketing come into picture then, and how are they different from Guerilla Marketing? Viral Marketing involves a message or a communicatio...

Entries have been pending for a long time now. Found some interesting things happening around the world lately, but could not post them earlier. Would be blogging them soon. For now, its something interesting about one of most exciting markets – China . A recent survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences published some notable facts about the Chinese Family Names in China. According to the report* (as covered in China Daily ), There are 4,100 family names for some 1.3 billion people in China, of which 94 percent use one of the 300 big family names, such as Li, Zhang, or Wang Out of these, “Li” is most popular family name, with 7.4% of Chinese people bearing that name [ Source - Survey released by China's National Natural Science Foundation in January ] The most used name in China is Wang Tao , with about 100,000 people bearing the name! What’s in it for Marketers? Though this might not be too relevant till the point-of-sale, but looking ahead, a CRM model would ne...

Barcodes have turned into another channel for communicating to the consumers. The company, Design Barcode , based out of Tokyo, Japan , transformed the inanimate barcodes into designs that reflected the product category and redefined the way barcodes are printed on packages. Starting with a book containing various designs, the firm sold the idea to various organizations to begin with. Gradually, with contracts coming in, it built credibility , along with visibility in the market. Publicity came through major media as well as direct mailers initiated by the company. The effort resulted in the desired results. According to the description at the Cannes Lions website , " There are 15 companies utilizing Design Barcodes in their packaging currently, and approximately 60 kinds of Design Barcodes are circulating in the marketplace. There have been zero instances of false readings resulting from these barcodes and the company has succeeded in generating 1 million dollar worth of free pu...

Rural Marketing is not all about low price points and PR building . Marketers in Bihar have found a new way of selling goods in the market – Tag them with the “ Lalu Brand ”. Though Brand Lalu has been famous for more than a few reasons, very few marketers have been able to cash in on it on a sustainable basis. Products ranging from Toys to TV Serials , from toffees to dating sites , from movies to a website are being introduced in the market from time to time under the aegis of the “ Lalu ” Icon. Consistent product introductions in the market tagged with the Bihari Persona has ensured that people remember him. His distinct style of communication and behavior has given him a unique place in the Indian community. So much so that the word “ Bihar ” and “ Lalu ” have become synonymous in the South Asian news circles. Following are a few pertinent branding stories floated in the market - Lalu had gained considerable popularity on account of his involvement in the fodder scams in Bihar. ...

Another piece from Cannes Lions 2006 – this time in the Press Category An insert in the " Fundraising & Appeals " category hits hard on your face through the message it communicates – the impact of Landmines on common man. What is creative about the campaign is the manner in which the message is communicated – using Ketchup as the medium to resemble blood and the sachets used to squeeze it out of the pack. Titled “ Ketchup Sachet ”, the creative is in form of a sachet, which when torn, resembles blood coming out of a child’s legs. It signifies the casualties and damage caused by Landmines, thereby raising awareness about the inhuman act. Ketchup Sachets were inserted into magazines " to demonstrate the horrific everyday nature of landmine affected country ". Created by Publicis Mojo, Auckland (New Zealand) , the advertisement is part of its “campaign against Landmines” campaign (CALM) . Certainly, a unique method of communication, which has resulted in the ad...

It might be more than a month since the Cannes Lions 2006 Awards have been announced, but could not stop myself from mentioning some of the best pieces out of the winners of this year. This Television commercial from Italy features Ariston's Aqualtis Washing Machine in a totally unexpected creative manner. The creative, titled "Underwater World" (or “Il mondo sommerso” as its called in Italian) imagines the washing machine as an aquatic world and translates the elements inside the washing machine (clothes to be precise) into the sea world creatures. For instance, socks turn into fishes, shirts into marshes, handkerchiefs into jellyfish and a scarf into eel . Incidentally, I could only gather this much. There are more creatures described at Duncans , where the entire commercial has been explicated, with all the ad elements mentioned. Blue fish with white spots swimming through the coral are in fact socks navigating their way through white shirt sleeves. Scarves wave t...

I had spoken about Eggvertising a couple of months back, and am back with the eggs again. Eggs aren’t my favorite blogging topic, but when they are given much more attention than “eggs” are supposed to be given, you really cannot avoid it, can you? It seems quite funny when you read about an entire nation admitting that it cannot boil an egg – to what degree, how much and for how long…! And yes, it is not a metaphor we are talking about….we ARE in the literal world! The British Egg Information Service , after repeatedly answering queries (supposedly on how much an egg should be boiled) has come up with a solution…a self-timed egg stamped with a special thermochromatic logo that becomes visible when the egg is ready. When a whistle can be used to indicate when the rice has been cooked in a pressure cooker, a tag can definitely be used to indicate when the eggs have been boiled as well. According to Times Online , the self-timing egg is imbued with the powers of heat-sensitive in...

Another set of “ Best Billboards ” have been announced – this time as part of the 7th Annual Sunset Strip/Times Square Billboard Awards , with the creative professionals in outdoor advertising being recognized for their outstanding work. Held at West Hollywood on the 28th July, the awards were given by the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber had established the Sunset Strip/Times Square Billboard Awards to honor creative excellence and artistic achievement in outdoor advertising design. The basis of the awards included creativity and strength of original concept; overall art direction and implementation; and consideration of format . [According to the press release ] Weeds got the Billboard of the year award and the GAP Glove Tree billboard got the Tall Wall of the Year . Have a look at other creatives which have been awarded as the best ones in their respective categories. Hover the mouse over a pic to know more about it. The compiled list of the winners, the adver...

Almost a year back, I had discussed about the Amul Moppet and its brand history in India. Incidentally, little has changed since then. The marketing efforts of the cooperative are still commendable, considering the level of consistency and innovation it has demonstrated over the past 40 years . Its latest initiative includes repackaging its core product to capture an altogether new channel , and command its position in a promising network, which is yet to be fully explored – serving the airlines and the railways According to a press release , Amul Butter would soon be available in an internationally designed tub pack. This would make Amul the first company to launch Butter in an International pack in the country “thereby strengthening its leadership status in the category.” Though this type of packaging has already been introduced in the bread spread category by the Market Leader ( 86% market share! ) in other offerings like “Lite spread” , Butter is still packaged in cardboard pack...