Read Between the Ps

Got my Summers at ITC . First perception of the company? Cigarettes, of course. Since the beginning of my reading on Marketing, I have always associated “ Smoking ” with ITC …until.. I visited Jim’s Burnt Offerings . A unique collection of Cigarette covers, Advertisements, packets and covers, this website entails an “ awe ” for the passion that the author has, for cigarettes. Jim has been compiling the photographs since Jan 1998 , and his collection traces back to as early as the 1880s. His collection spans across the globe, including Turkey, Egypt, China, Britain..etc with a reference to all the International Brands, and their corresponding Advertisements. Click here for all the International Ads. He also has a unique collection of promotional cards issued in the 1880s in America. It is one of the best, rather, THE BEST, collection I have even seen, for any one product. Just a glance through the website is an experience in itself. Kudos to the effort Jim. It is an indeed an inspira...

The Latest episode of “ All about Ads ” at NDTV Profit featured an interview with Gavin Heron , CEO and MD, TBWA, China . Though he was interviewed on various aspects specific to the agency and the industry, but an interesting piece of the conversation included a comparison of the Indian Advertising Industry with the Chinese Advertising Industry. He emphasized on the following points – 1) Outdoor Advertising – Billboards in India promote offers and discounts, and are more oriented towards tactical marketing , whereas in China, it is more of Brand Building that is done, to ensure that the brand remains at the top of the consumers mind! 2) Rural Advertising – India has moved aggressively towards the Rural Sector, whereas China is yet to venture into that. Advertising is presently focused in the business zones, which includes Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou 3) Distinctive Style – Indian Advertising industry has matured and has developed a particular style of Advertising. In a press ...

Looks familiar? Yup, it is Taj Mahal, our very own contribution to the " Wonders of the world "! And no, this is not yet another initiative of Mayawati on the Agra beauty, but a part of the latest campaign by Lewis Berger , renamed from Berger Paints. This Ad reflects the extent to which one can imagine, and subsequently painting the imagination with colors. Thus, reinforcing the tagline.. " Paint your Imagination ". Definitely, a colorful Taj Mahal gives a picturesque view, compared to the "Marbel-lous" original version. And why not? After all, it is the age of Remixes in India ;-). Why should Taj Mahal be left out? Berger Paints has re-branded itself as Lewis Berger , named after the founder of Berger Paints. According to a press Release , the re-branding has been done keeping the festive season in mind, with the premium segment as their primary target. The umbrella brand ‘Lewis Berger’ retains the respectability and equity gained by Berger over the ...

An association with Tourism Australia has prompted Shoppers’ Stop to launch “ Down Under Fest ” – a promotional campaign to increase the purchases during the festive season. With a few selected Artists from Australia scheduled to be “ available ” at select Shoppers’ Stop outlets and special items being sold, like “ Perth Mint Coins ” and “ memorabilia from Sir Don Bradman Museum ”, giving a pure Australian Flavor. Just an afterthought : Is it promotion of Australia Tourism or is it a move to increase the footfalls at shoppers’ stop? Probably, it is both. But I doubt if there would be a marked increase in the footfalls because of “ Australian ” touch during this festive season. A logical inference is that the “Diwali” month in itself promotes higher ticket sizes and customers, and maybe the Aussies wanna take advantage of this time. The Aussie flavor could be simply a gimmick, since neither is there any prominent personality in the Australian troupe visiting the outlets across the...

is a new invention. It is talk of the town. It is the thing that everyone everywhere is excited about. It is what makes you feel important. It is what you want to have. …. It is that and it is this. You can never stop talking about it…. So WHAT IS IT ? This new teaser viral campaign by eBay finally launched on the 20th of October with the answers Created by BBDO , the campaign covers different parts of the globe showcasing the buzz created about “it”. Omnicom Group’s BBDO is the new agency hired by eBay, and has made its debut with this campaign (Source: Adweek ) It starts with the “ Yahoo ” or “ Google ” style invention, with two guys inventing “ it ” during their experiments. This invention, with some coloring, goes on to become the most talked about thing “ buzzing ” in the market. It becomes the craze amongst all the generations (the videos make a conscious display of all the generations and the cults). Different segments interview the “ creators ” of the concept and ask them the ...

It is always gratifying to be appreciated, especially when it comes from a person who knows his line pretty well. Katherine, of Decent Marketing has put a post on her blog on " Marketing in India - Read Between the Ps ", and has some nice words to say for my budding blog! Katherine is a former Director of Experiential Marketing at the Coca Cola Company and is on the Board of International Experiential Marketing Association. She is considered to be one of the best in her field, and believes in delivering the BEST in Marketing to her clients in organizations across the US. The best part is ... She owns a consulting company called Engage, and is involved in developing strategies and concepts related to Experiential Marketing! [Thats the most inspiring bit :-) ] Thanks a lot Katherine. Its always a great learning to get inputs from Fellow Bloggers. Keep watching this space!

Delhi is buzzed with the Hutch Half Marathon , which is due in less than a week from now. But, much before that Hutch has started milking the cow . Saw this billboard from Hutch on my way back home to NOIDA! This is not a normal billboard, with an extra-large font size to enhance readability. There is a man , on a jogger , who keeps on running next to the hoarding. In the photograph above, it is not visible, since I took this photograph during the day. But, during peak hours, to ensure high visibility, and in turn, high recall, there is a big man jogging his way up, on the jogger! Interesting concept! And the brain behind this creative is Oglivy ! In an article in Exchange4media.com , Pratap Bose, President, Ogilvy Activation, commented on the origin and objective of the campaign, “Marathon is all about movement. We wanted to show an element of movement on a billboard. Hence, the idea originated.” He continues to be enthusiastic - “One thing that really makes the campaign stand out i...