What sets marketers apart

Marketing has always been the cost centre and dare I say - the discussion centre. Everyone else has their defined area of 'expertise', it is marketing that is everyone's favourite punching bag. No one messes with the finance because numbers is always a big mess. No one messes with the operations because stock management is a big headache. What about marketing, then? That's everyone's playground!

Marketing needs to be at the heart of decisions impacting both your buyers and customers - no second thought about it. The strong internal pressure leads even the marketing team to look at ROI metrics or even increase 'stakeholder response rate'. However, I always had the same lingering doubt - What exactly is the unique core competency of marketers?

It's pretty easy for other streams and professional roles to list specialized competencies - but what about marketers? What is our unique competency? What is that one thing that stands us out from the rest of the streams?

Great communication skills? - Nope, everyone requires it

Strategic Thinking? - Nope again

Creative ability? - Not really

Ability to innovate and marry the long term and short term plan? - Not exactly

All these are something that non-marketers are also supposed to have. Then what is it that we should possess?

It is up for discussion and debate but personally I believe that the answer for this is Meaningful engagement with buyers and customers

How often have we seen strategy meetings talking about a complete engagement model with buyers and customers? Am not saying that the buyers' needs are not discussed - far from it. Needs are discussed but only partially and in line with the other departments. How should we take care of our operations? What should be our stocking positions? What should be the finances to be put for branding purposes? How should we carry out our advertising plan?

There certainly is a need to speak to the complete market of buyers. There definitely is a need to think beyond the usual and make decisions that will be market driven. There is a need to gain non-obvious insights of customer buying patterns. Companies do tend to get these insights by outsourcing but the presence of 'buyer experts' to judge the trends and patterns of buying is invaluable to any company.

So, what do I want to be? I would want to be a hard worker; I would want to be a pro-active problem solver; I would want to be a relationship builder....but on top of all the above, I would want to be a buyer expert decoding the expert buyers!

Happy marketing!

Are 4Ps still relevant?

They form the very basis of modern day marketing. I think life of a marketer starts with these 4 little words. Ask any marketing professional and they would agree the importance of these 4 words all through their life. Ever since Jerome McCarthy proposed the marketing mix, Product, Price, Promotion and Place have become the essence of every marketer.

How relevant is the 4Ps still? Are we leaving to chance if we are not updating as per the market requirements? As a marketing professional, I would definitely vouch that we need to change with changing times. Will that principle also apply to the seemingly untouchable marketing mix?

Whatever I'm writing below is from consolidation of readings across various marketing fora. I found it compelling to post because it is so true to the marketing mix. Here it goes!

The 4Ps should be modified slightly to be in tune with changing times and what we get is 4Es

Experience

People are now looking beyond a product. They are looking for experience. When you buy a TV now, you are looking for that wholesome experience. When you are buying a razor, you are looking for that defining experience. When you buy a movie ticket you are not looking at movie as a product but to give you that experience which encompasses various things. Bottom line, people have moved from looking at products as products and are looking at experiencing products. So, is it time to modify the marketing mix to reflect this?

Exchange

What is it that I get of experiencing this product? Has this been at the top of your mind behind every purchase? I wouldn't blame you. On the contrary, you are on the track that most of us are. We have moved beyond the concept of price. What we look now when we experience a product is the outcome of it..what's in it for me...or to put it more precisely...what am I getting in Exchange. The consumers have moved out of the comfort zone of price into the zone of exchange. They are willing to pay a higher price if in exchange they experience and get more benefits. Will I pay more to buy an Apple phone? What am I getting in exchange - operationally, socially and financially? Time for a change to kick out Price from the marketing mix?

Every Place

Where are products being sold these days? What are the channels for sales? The Place of Marketing Mix has become Every Place because that's where we practically see the products - every place! Someone having a physical shop and not having an online shop? He's missing on web visitors. Someone not present on facebook and/or twitter? They are missing out on social presence. You are expected to be physically present, use all the older channels (direct selling, B2B selling, indirect selling - all those still hold true) and yet use the modern channels - online, social. This makes you to be in every place

Evangelism

You saw a Bollywood hero bulging his muscles, removing his shirt and picking up a sandal...you ended up buying it. This was the story till yesterday.

You now see a man-next-door endorsing a car that he uses; you see a girl-next-door endorsing a soap that she uses. You think strongly of using these products. This is how it is today.

Gone are the days when a specific promotional campaign is targeted at enticing your senses and appealing to you. Now, it's more about adoption...more about Evangelism. We don't just get swayed by a promotional campaign - it may get eye balls but not conversions. We are looking at adopters now...someone who can 'walk the talk'. We are not just looking at hearing from someone who's not even using that product. May be we are moving towards Evangelism

Is it really the time to modify the 1970's 'Marketing Mix' to sync with modern times? May be yes....may be not....but one thing's for sure - marketers are always the trend catchers and the trend setters.

The new Wagon R

Maruti and the Indian market go a long way! From the time being Indian market's monopolist to vying for the market share with all the big guns, Maruti has come a long way. Traditionalists still give it a thumbs-up (did some one say oldies?)

Wagon R has been the darling of the masses - for no reason it is the 2nd best selling car in India. However, everyone keep saying that the design could be a lot better. Not so flashy not so elegant, the Wagon R still sold. But, 6 years is a long time and Maruti decided to come up with a variant.

I'm not an expert on cars which meant I badly needed one - to get an opinion. The one I spoke to was very impressed by the new variant. He opined that Maruti addressed what it had to in the old model - front end looks!

With its competitors Santro, Figo, Beat in the range 3.4 L to 3.6 L, Maruti priced Wagon R between 3.28 - 3.8 for the variants. Maruti is expecting its blue-eyed boy to give it an edge over the competition. Will it?

It's my fortune to see this pioneer in person. It's my misfortune to see him leave all of us in tears.

For all those who viewed marketing and products as only a strata-specific activity, Prahalad was a refreshing change. Coming up with his radical but inspiring view that there indeed is fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, Prahalad made all the marketers sit up and notice.

If there is a change not just in the strategy but also in the balance sheets of HUL (and many others) they got to thank this visionary. No words would be enough to revisit the legendary that is Prahalad.

It certainly is a huge loss to all the marketers around the world. Let's all pray for his soul. Of course, I bet he must now be sitting with the TOP management to improve the living out there. We miss you Sir!

Indian market and the lemon juice

When was it that Parle Agro decided to come up with LMN? At that time, when it wanted to make its mark in the Indian beverages market. Surprisingly, that was one untapped segment. No one thought of it before!

Lemon juice is tailor-made for Indian environment. Summers...holidays...cricket...all that ends up with a lovely chilled glass of lemon juice. And it is in-house which makes it sweeter than ever. Even now, when I have a glass of lemon juice, it reminds me of my childhood, cricket and lovely little home!

This is what caught up with the biggies. After LMN, it is the turn of Nimbooz and Minute Maid. The usual bragging in the ad world kept aside, both are trying to vouch for greater attention. And having tasted all the three products (LMN, Nimbooz and Minute Maid) apart from talking to people who have been drinking them, there seems to be some interesting observations which might help the strategists.

For starters, every one is wondering why it took so long for the companies to eye this segment. Was it because this was supposed to be an in-house drink? Was it because there are apprehensions on the market perception? Whatever it is, these are uncalled for; at least going by the receptions from my sample.

Then of course is a bigger question from all of them. Why are they coming up with pet bottles and not the economically viable 1 or 1.5 ltr bottles? Simple...companies would like to test the waters before they get knee deep. It always is good if you can come out unscratched in case of adversity. To put simple, cut your losses and don't commit early. (Yeah, the same mistake committed by poor Shoaib with Ayesha...ahem..ahem)

Surprisingly enough, going by the perception and the reception, I strongly believe there is enough mandate to go for bigger bottles. Again, Parle took the first step...but who will be the last one standing?

'Amaze'ing

If you have the same bug like me, you should be following ads as closely as I do. There is a growing trend of companies making lofty claims and comparing competitors. What baffles me is that the claims have more often been sky-rocketing.

It was long time ago that HUL came up with its so-called brain food Amaze.

The packaging itself boasts that this is a brain food that gives 33% key brain nutrients children need. Is it? of course, since there is scientific evidence! How different is it from the Rin Vs Tide claims where the comparison was done on the basis of whiteness? Not very...since this is a fact that cannot be understood or validated by a substantial chunk of consumers.

Recently, there was a notice to HUL from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on the basis of compliance to rules. HUL is planning to change the labelling of Kissan Amaze to make sure it is not in the bad books of FSSAI.

How is its impact going to be? It's a trade secret that Amaze hasn't been doing well. There were rumors that HUL was trying to revitalize the brand. This could be a blessing in disguise because this provides a chance for rebranding the product. Companies generally get emotionally involved with the brands - more so with the failed brands, and tend to take time in taking them off.

Will this mean the end of the road for Amaze? I doubt. HUL might use this to their advantage by reinventing the brand. The million dollar question is will they be able to? This may well be like the classic case of Kelloggs which had to create a new segment and then promote its brand. Is the Indian consumer ready for brain food?

Moving away from the roots?

Western India Palm Refined Oils...name sounds a bell? Not really? Does WIPRO mean anything to you? Yes, WIPRO is an acronym for the same. Recently, Wipro decided to exit the Vanaspathi and the babycare business.

It truly is a move away from the roots, isn't it? Someone who has started in the Vanaspathi segment and diversified to become a potent force in, well, whichever segment it ventured to. However, it has to be noted that no decision in business is to be emotional and only sense is what prevails.

So, what makes WIPRO take this decision? The actual share of these two businesses is pegged at around 3% of the overall revenues of Wipro consumer care revenues. There are many problems in the Vanaspathi segment what with the adulterated market, health conscious people and the lower appeal among the urban consumers. In the baby care segment, it is an open secret that Johnson & Johnson is the leader by a long way. It controls more than 90% of the market in this segment. Moreover, there is very less brand appeal for "Softbrand" - Wipro's brand in this market.

Looking at all these factors, it seems to be a well-thought business decision from Wipro. After all, what is more important is your bottom line!

Come out of the clutches

It always is a pain to commute on a bike. Though am not the correct person to comment (I've always been a free-rider aka pillion for most of my life), there certainly is an equal amount of risk involved along with the joy. There have been attempts to make it more friendly with automatic scooters, mopeds etc. However, the consumer behavior is something which plays a major role here. Who would want to drive a gear-less scooter considered more feminine? How many of you have seen a guy driving a Scooty pep?

But, there has always been something that is behind your mind when you drive through the rush streets...clutch, gear, clutch-gear change....isn't it all cumbersome? Can I not take all these off and still retain the basic features of a bike? Yes, says TVS with its new bike Jive

Jive is the latest entrant into the 110 CC bike middle-income target, but with a change. Jive has auto-clutch mechanism featuring an innovative patent-pending technology. Then there are the usuals that come with a bike and TVS has done well to retain all of them.

Hero Honda Street came flashing to my mind hearing about Jive. Being someone who drove Street for a good 2 years, I always felt it is a bike suited for the Indian market. However, because of the wrong packaging (yeah, it looked a moped than a bike) and the not-so-good marketing, Street went out of the market as soon as it came.

Will Jive drastically change the market? Tough but not impossible. Shrewd marketing and positioning can do wonders for the brand. However, there are certain things that might prove obstacles to them.

For one, the bike doesn't look stylish enough to attract the masses. TVS could be factoring on the comfort and ease factors but will they be enough to drive sales?

More importantly, customers in this segment look at the sales and the resale value of the bikes. Splendor has always been the darling of the masses because of the resale record of Hero Honda. Will this stop Jive from claiming the market position?

It still is early to comment on the success or otherwise of Jive. But, what it triggered is a frenzy activity in the market. We could be in for a revolutionary market changing concept. Jive along!

What an Idea sirji

It indeed is no exaggeration to say that Abhishek is actually abhi shake. His ubiquitous presence in Idea has been an idea in itself. Be it wielding power as a village head ordering everyone to chuck out names or donnign the role of a doctor asking people to walk the talk, the junior B has done it all for Idea.

The revolutionary theme off-late has been the effort to step up green ways. It indeed is a social theme linked to the commercial aspects...well, subtly. What you see is what you get...you see AB Jr. smartly manning the role of a tree and pushing all of us towards using the phone instead of a paper.

Smart..very smart. No where is ita direct brand awareness programme. In fact, Idea is not promoting Idea at all. It actually is promoting the 'green idea' but subtly says that this is its Idea. Result? You get so reached upon by the novelty and the generosity of the idea that you end up remembering the brand more than ever!

It indeed is what an idea sir ji...all of its ads were; the 'walk and talk' ad changed the perception. Remember, people actually walked prior to that ad as well. But now, when you see someone walking while talking, you can't stop yourself saying walk and talk. As they say, it is a master stroke...a candid master stroke

Ad-war is here again!

The heroics of Sachin not withstanding, the last week was a pleasant surprise for me. After a long time, we got to see an ad-war. Of course, the Nutralie-Amul and the others were trying to heat up the scene but what better than the two best FMCG companies jostling for attention in ads.

It would be difficult to recreate the ad here (you need to understand and appreciate my limited expertise at translation) but it goes something like this...a proud woman flaunting her Tide gets her ego busted with another woman showcasing the seemingly-better credentials of Rin . The whole point of the exercise is to establish that Rin is much better at providing whiteness to clothes than Tide.

Before we look at the nuances, is it permitted? It certainly is, if you are not leaving ambiguous things at the disposal of the consumer by comparison. To put more simply, 'whiteness' isn't a criterion that is universal or easy to comprehend. This might put a spanner in the work of HUL.

But why the fuss? Well, it is common knowledge that FMCG companies wouldn't like to lose share. Especially in these times, when value is the new volume. Emphasize better value and retain your customers, if not poach your competitors'. More over, there isn't a doubt in the marketing circles that Tide is making Rin run all the way for every inch of its share with its variants.

What will happen next? HUL is running a slippery ground with the inadvertent usage of 'whiteness'. If P&G takes up the issue with the Advertising Council of India, HUL might face the ignominy of reneging its claims. Then of course is the legal angle which could well be the way for P&G.

However, there is an interesting catch in this. If HUL has at least been partially successful in its ad, will this be the advent of a new ad war? Are we going to see the breach of new records ala Sachin? I can't wait to see...

The taste of India

The little girl with the red dots...the yellow colored thing that spawns water in the mouth and tickles our taste buds...and the humorous one liners...yes, the real taste of India...AMUL.

Generations of youngsters like me (of course, am still young...) have grown up along with the polka dotted girl and the jingle of Amul. The taste of India is in fact the toast of our generation. The engagement model that Amul has adopted is impeccable and talks to every one. The print ads, the bill boards, the television ads...what not, everything is a master piece; a lesson in teaching brand engagement.

I still remember my early college days when I used to rush towards the lone bill board near my house to check the latest riddle from Amul's stable. And then I run around telling each of my friends to do the same. Whenever we happen to pass by that junction, I make it a point to ask everyone to enjoy the message. Unknowingly, I became a part of the publicity bandwagon of Amul...the customer engagement worked wonders for Amul's word-of-mouth publicity.

And the best part of all this is, at no point of time will you feel that this is a brand advertisement. The messages are so relevant and so in-the-time that it hits on your face. And behind all this, Amul makes its way to your dining table and the taste of India becomes the toast of your home!

The pyramid and its dynamics

I love pyramids...They are a wonderful portrayal of how life is; busy at the bottom lonely at the top. The various spectra of earnings and livings are beautifully signified by one Dr. C.K. Prahalad which of course became our bible!

And how! Everyone started looking at the actual untapped market at the BOP (bottom of the pyramid). It may not make sense to a BMW or a Toyota but it definitely makes sense to a HUL or a Godrej to tap the markets. If not with a specialized product definitely with a modified version.

Look at Godrej now. They wanted the Vinod khanna-era-stuck Cinthol's image to be modified. So...kaboom...off went the old Cinthol and in came the new re-branded Hrithik's Cinthol. Did they gain mileage? Well, a little. They at least got eye balls and got the minds tickling with the whole exercise. (They got me hooked too, thanks to Hrithik!)

But what did they realise now? That the too-costly-for-rural Cinthol soap might not make it to the bottom of the pyramid. So in comes the new lesser price models. A recent report states that Godrej is looking at penetrating the market with Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 packets to tap the huge market.

Is it going to work? If the conventional wisdom is anything to go by, Cinthol has a decent shot at the market. It isn't rocket science to tap the rural market. You just need to be approachable - on all 4Ps. Get your product in a feasible model reaching every nook and corner (you are targeting) and then make it affordable.

Cinthol might not receive an instant thumbs up from the market. It would take probably little longer before the market embraces Godrej. And if it does, they might try the same technique on other products. However, beware of competition...ITC already has the strength of its operational backbone and might use it (which they are actually doing) to push its products.

But one thing is sure...the next few months are going to be wonderful for the market. Let's sit back and enjoy

Royal way to earn!

It will not be long before cricket fans will forget the adage...answer your critics on the cricket field! IPL has become the new rocking star on the horizon and how!!! Those who get to play even a small part keep flaunting IPL on their resumes(remember Kalyan Krishna from AP who played in Deccan Chargers?? forget it...I guess he must have lost count of that as well!) And those who are shunned quickly do the forgiving act! (Kamran Akmal has forgiven IPL for the snub and is ready to play IPL IV...aah, so many thanks Mr. Akmal for 'dropping' this hint)

But look at it from behind the scenes. Right from the drum rolls till now, Rajasthan Royals have went about their PR in the best way possible! Answer your critics with the moolah. Give them 100 rupees to spend on players, they will spend 10 rupees and give the rest as credit to SRK. Then they spend the interest on their PR.

Look at their marketing strategy! Who would have thought about the global consortium. What are you achieving by this? Nothing but money! I mean, who cares if Cobras would be Royals tomorrow or Hampshire would be Royals the day after. All that matters for the administrators is money. And how to get it? Just make sure you get an innovative way of marketing!

Not to say that they are doing badly on the field (in fact far away from that...they are doing real good. Consider my poor friend SRK; he just keeps beaten everywhere - on the posters, on the ground, off the ground....) but kudos to them now everyone is looking at marketing their global team consortia and eating into our pockets...after all Answer your critics with marketing!

Economotion

Okay...I just got out of my extra-long hibernation flexing my muscles to write something. And what better than my usual favorite SRK!

Why on earth would you want to tickle the tiger when you can't tame it? Well...the perennial question that has no answer but what fascinates me more is why people keep asking What is all this fuss about? Excuse me....you don't understand what this fuss is about???

There are two types of decisions that we take in our life:

1. Decisions related to money (Which job to take, Which restaurant to take your date to, etc). These are what I call Economic decisions
2. Decisions related to your emotions (Whom to marry, Which team to support, etc) These are what I call Emotional decisions

There, however, is a considerable overlap of some of these decisions. If you ask Preity which team she would support in IPL III, you wouldn't hear Deccan Chargers! More than the emotion it is the economics that determine her decision in this.

As I see it, this overlap is growing by the day. There are more decisions that are being determined by a combination of factors...which movie to go (am a fan of Aamir but SRK movie comes cheap), which team to support (my heart is with India but I bet on South Africa!)... These are what I call the new trend decisions.

I label them Economotion decisions...welcome to the world of Economics and Emotion in no particular order. Most of the new-world decisions are, if you ask me, economotive decisions. SRK wouldn't mind an extra dose of publicity for his movie, even if it comes from the Thackerays. And Thackerays know where to pinch SRK to get their message through.

Don't mix politics and arts....don't mix politics and sports....we keep hearing them often, ain't it? Conventional wisdom says that we should not mix these. But Economotion wisdom says that we should! After all, if IPL doesn't snub Pakistan players, will they get the emotional message? If his movies are not blocked, will SRK get the Thackerays' message?

Sorry Mr. Gandhi (now don't ask if it is Rahul...am talking about our dear old Mahatma) but this is not the age of Satyagraha. These are the days of Econograha...show your anger on the economics...hail the new order!

Politics and Marketing

This is the season for it...ain't it? I came back home to be greeted by the campaigns. Nothing new? Right...this is nothing new. Every time we are supposed to make an educated decision on who should be our representatives, the decibel levels just shoot up. I guess the PR managers and the marketing managers of the candidates would be at their best in this season.

Look at Advani. The way he has brought up his own site and tried to endear him to the youth of the country isn't a decision taken in a jiffy or an idea out of the blue. A well-thought and a well planned initiative that is being well served by an MBA (oh yeah! there we go again...the Management grads!!!) behind the scenes is nothing short of a sensation this season.

Then there are various candidates who are utilizing the blogs, websites, placement advertisements etc etc. The bottom line is simple - Do anything to market you! Then there's this candidate in a constituency in Visakhapatnam who has endeared himself to the voters with a laptop. He went around toed with his laptop and goes door-to-door trying to engage the voters explaining them the need to vote and the status of their voter-id cards. In case of any help, he engages activists of his party to help them. At the end of it all, he asks them to look at his candidature. He knows that his election is a distant dream but he at least understood the essence of marketing in high-tech age!!!

Brand manager

It's often a well-placed misconception that brand manager means someone who takes care of the brands that you buy in the market place, the ones that make up your life style space etc. With the changing times and the eras, brand has extended its portfolio (Can I call it brand extension? I wonder!) and boasts of people too, under its umbrella. Brand Sachin, Brand Aamir, Brand SR, Brand Bachchan(How can I not write about him!) and on and on and on... The curious link up between a brand and an ambassador has moved up a notch and has now taken the proportions of branding at personal level.

Most of the so-called branded people have PR firms taking care of their activities. I do not specifically know how many of these actually take care of their branding activities but one such person is Aamir Khan. The self-styled, the marketing-savvy and the ever-changing unique actor of Indian cinema is for all reasons known THE potential brand of the Indian celebrities. With all due regards to every other celebrity, Aamir holds his own in this space.

How does he do that? Simple; he makes sure that he walks the talk. Aamir sports a Titan watch, drinks a Diet Coke, drives an Innova, watches a Tata Sky and of course sports a new hair style every day. It's not about driving the brand but driving the message. In an era of message clutter and brand-ambassador incongruence Aamir comes as a refreshing change. Samsung, another brand endorsed by him leaped from number 4 in the GSM handsets to number 2 after he started endorsing them.

Doesn't it send a subtle message to all the marketers around? Yeah it does. Choose your endorser who knows and appeals to the people. And by appeal, it's not just the visual appeal. The connect between the brand and the endorser has gone beyond the commercial; it's time marketers take notice!

Interviewer: Ruk Shan Khar ji you endorse Tepsi but why are you drinking Poke?

RSK: HHHHHey, in that case I need to bathe with a Sux, have a NairTel connection...I'm beyond all this...

B.R.A.N.D.

Why did I name it in a way immortalised by a famous sitcom (The irresistable Jennifer Aniston is an off-the-cuff reason, but not for public revelation)? Simply because I believe a brand is a conglomerate of so many things immortalised by the letters.

B - Basic

R - Realistic

A - Appealing

N - Needy

D - Duly serving

People say different things about why they need brands - it reduces the time of search of a customer, increases the affiliation...blah blah blah. But, at the end of the day, it boils down to the basic stuff. Unless the product immortalises the basic thing what a customer is looking for, you cannot, absolutely cannot, hit the psychological levels with your product. And make no mistake, a product remains a product until it gets an attachment with the customer.

Try designing a funky product which is very basic but is far away from the expectations of the customer. No matter how well you stick to your basics, it is almost as much pertinent to cling on to the realistic expectations of the customer. The GOD of marketing (customer boss, customer...he is our GOD!!!) doesn't take any bull shit. (S)He just expects a real version of his needs.

There is already so much clutter out there. Even for a pen, I've so much to choose from based on various factors. And of course, there is the celebrity factor. Amidst all this chaos, if your product needs to hold its own and go on to become a brand it has to be appealing to its customer. Unless I find something very appealing, I won't change my usual buying decision (Of course, it's another matter that I rarely think while buying). In an era where it is very difficult to find and hold your customers, the best thing your brand can do (and may be the least, as well) is to appeal (to all senses, if possible) to the consumer.

Is that all? Am afraid not...it is almost next to impossible to make a brand in an area where there is no need! You can survive on fast-track sales for a day, a week and may be a little more if you pick on some clever tactic. But unless there is need on the consumer side your product can not think of the next step. Make sure that your product picks up all these attributes and duly serve the consumers; because the life of a product doesn't end with being a B.R.A.N.D, it starts with it.

Celebrity Endorsements

It's still fresh in my mind...AB used to rule the world of television not long ago. It's not just with his amazing life-saving show Kaun bachayega Bacchan ko err...sorry...Kaun banega Crorepati but also with his innumerable ads. Any commercial break would be incomplete without the bearded face showcased more than twice. Every over of the cricket match would be quickly followed by a chocolate munching or painting or writing AB. I won't blame the person himself if he lost count of all the products he endorsed!

So, how good is this celebrity endorsement? As a customer, we look for a show of trust...either from the company or from someone we know. This lookout for someone we know almost always ends up with a celebrity. Why? because we give preference to an AB or a Sachin or a Tiger Woods than your neighbour who actually used the product. (Okay...I'm an exception. I always look for my neighbour's endorsement; after all she's of my age and still single...)

Does this mean any one can go on endorsing any thing? Hmm...may wll not be the case. You don't want Atal Bihari Vajpayee to be your brand ambassador of Nike Shoes. Poor chap! I pity the search for a body double who actually would look like Atalji and still can run...You don't want Ramalinga Raju to endorse your LIC policy (err...Raju and trust...that would be another heck of an endorsement). Your customer out there is a smart chap who looks for reliance and salience more than anything else.

The advantage that products get is the spill over of the celebrity aura onto your product itself. You want people to associate the product and believe that it's as good as your celebrity. Wish the world is as perfect! More often than not, you tend to over-estimate the presence of your celebrity and the effect (s)he is gonna get you. Classic example that comes to my mind is the Nerolac ad endorsed by AB (oh my God!!! not again :P) which ended up with greater recall of the Big B and his presence but no added value for the product. Again...people liked the ad, liked the celebrity(we can never get enough of AB! trust me...) but somehow the product was left in the vacuum. Another example was when Andy Roddick was endorsed in the US open by a company promoting him in a huge manner only to see him dumped in the first round...they had to retreat their ads

I know that we all still look and feel for celebrity endorsements. It's just that the adorable AB has been replaced by the (ir)replaceable King Khan who's gone a step ahead and started endorsing anything and every thing under the Sun. A day would come when someone would endorse every thing you and your girl friend are wearing. That would be kick ass na..

Guy: Look at my purple socks. Ain't it beautiful? It's endorsed by the hottest pair in the bollywood

Girl: Jaran Kohar and Rukh Shah Naak?

Guy: Exactly!!! The same pair who endorsed your peppy nail polish and the girlie handbag apart from the body lotion and hair spray that you are using.

Girl: Yeah!!! They are the talk of the town! 

Where's the limit...

Marketing always fascinates; to the extent that it makes you wonder if you really are buying something because you needed it or because you were marketed to. Take my example...I get into a retail store having a set list in my hand ably supported by the limited cash in my wallet (thanks to my dad and my bank!). Then I see this wonderful red color wrapped choclate which has been doing rounds in the tv ads for a week now. Next frame...it's in my basket.

Okay...you may try looking at this from the angle of impulse and non-impulse purchases but seriously saying, I never would have bought it had I not seen that ad. I still don't buy that 4-PM crunchy snack (Sorry Sir, I don't remember the name) because I didn't think it was well sold. The very fact that the general store near my hostel puts a discount on this snack and not on the red-color one tells me that the latter has been marketed.

But, can you sell anything and everything to any one and everyone? May be not. As famously protrayed in an advertisement in the past, you can't make women shave every day. Come on, if a bright marketer can do that, imagine the amount of opportunities for shaving companies. Pealitte can come up with a razor that is dual purpose (the reverse side for the gals). You may argue that there are razors being sold even now but they are for different 'location'. I wish to see the day when a bright marketer can make women shave their (non-existent)beard every day.

People say that marketing is the art of selling a comb to a DevaGowda. Yeah, you can go ahead and sell it to a Kirmani as well but there always is a limit to what marketing can do. It can't make you wear a watch on each of your wrists. Or can it?

The mad world of ads

Tav...washing powder Nirma....washing powder Nirma

Probably the most enduring image of my childhood. The little girl in a frock twirling to the tune of the name which was penned to be a household name for the next decade or so. I was so fascinated that everytime there was a commercial break I waited with bated breath for the little girl. And everytime, the tune started there was a smirk on my lips.

It's not the product that sells, it's the marketing that does. Ignorant, as I was at that time, I thought this was played by the television studio to give a break to the performing actors. After all, it takes time to come all the way from Switzerland (where they just went for a duet) to the shanties of Hyderabad (My initial pick was Mumbai but I was afraid of the legal tangles I would get into if I portray the Mumbai slums)

So, what's there in an ad? Almost everything in close to nothing! You get 20 sec to claim your pie of the fortune. Bet to better that! I remember my dad asking me to explain the importance of a HSBC ad where the kid gets a sprawling caterpillar and puts in a bowl much to the dismay of his mom. Only later did I realise the jargons of the ad world...target customer, message, top-of-the-mind.

Ads are the best thing to happen to the world of television. In addition to saving us from the tears of the saases and bahus, it also brings the diversity of the world within minutes. How else can you explain a frentic 5 minute ad break with ads that range from Fair-and-handsome to Pepsi to Whisper to Nike. It's very rare to find two successive ads of the same segment (err..I don't remember viewing a Nike right after Adidas or a Dil maanging more right after Tasting the thunder)

I long thought that I need to grow my hair and beard and buy a test-cricket hat to be an ad-man. Little did I realise that you need a brain for that hat that thinks sharp! The colors that we see on the screen are the result of some creativity behind for some unmistakabaly longer period. And yeah, last but not the least, thanks to all those models who made the ads what they are...entertaining and informative (Yes boss, the very reason why gals in long skirts come to explain the features of your refrigerator before inducing you to buy)....

Teacher shows an underwear advertisement where a guy runs in his undies when his girl's father turns up.

Teacher: What do you infer from the ad?

Guy: You need to be smart and keep your bike parked in an adjacent lane

Girl: You need to hide the gun before you embark on the exotic mission

Teacher(muttering to himself): And I thought that the father should have come an hour before!!!