Read Between the Ps

If you are into creatives, you would know (more) - Chicks, Children, Canines and Cigarettes – you don’t need to sell them, for they sell on their own. But for the sake of sheer creativity, though, they are, what one can say, ‘essential ingredients’ of any viral campaign. No wonder this space has mentioned Cigarettes in a lot of previous entries (as it has Chicks, Children and Canines as well) Imagine cigarettes being a cure-all for physical and emotional ailments, or one your kids are proud of, for their daddies or best case, smoking curing asthma for you! A brief report by Adage raises a question which I keep asking myself, while appreciating the creative geniuses behind some of these campaigns – whether one should criticize the horrific results that these campaigns entail, or appreciate the stunning creativity behind them! Even though the video is inconclusive, unfortunately, one can’t help but go for the latter sometimes (at least I did)! Click here to see the report about the ex...

First, the 4Ps were proved ineffective, and the 4As emerged. Then, ATL activities were replaced with BTL focused media houses. Brand elements changed and Experiential Marketing was the new way to market; Sensory branding became far more significant than before. Then, AIDA was proved ineffective and Engagement Marketing Emerged….now it is the turn of Viral Marketing….and Big Seed Marketing has emerged. Are the New world marketers reinventing the wheel, or is time to change the whole vehicle itself…… Viral marketing , stated simply, is marketing done the viral way – message that spreads like a virus, and need not be provided a channel or a direction – it takes it own direction/course. No planning, no media exercise, no creatives and no briefs… minimal budget, maximum reach…well that’s every marketers dream, and fantasy , so to say! But how exactly does one measure the effectiveness of the campaign? If final conversion is a parameter, who does one attribute it to? Is it the influencers wh...

Sometime back, I had spoken about Guerilla Marketing and basics on Viral and Ambient Marketing . Recently, I came across Webchutney , that specializes in Virals and claims to have pioneered the concept in India. Whether it has pioneered the concept or not, it has definitely created some wonderful pieces of virals for “ Make my trip ", a travel portal famous for deep discounts in travel fares. These virals for Make my trip include Chidiya Udi and Chalo Lanka . Simply amazing and funny. There are a few other campaigns also, but nothing compared to the creatives like these. As is evident, these virals were awarded the Gold and the Silver Awards at Abby 2006 for Digital Marketing Innovation! Click for the virals - Chidiya Udi and Chalo Lanka According to one of the reports on the campaign , Marketers have migrated to the web for heightened exposure and targeted audiences. Viral Marketing, as defined, is a short-term tactics to grab attention, which may or may not translate into ...