December 2011
1 post
7 tags
Commoditising a legendary brand in one shot!
Imagine this, you walk into a supermarket and go ahead with your weekly or monthly purchase routine. Let’s take an example of a guy’s case. Let’s name him John and let’s make some assumptions (some bordering on generalizations, but just to make a point). Now let’s profile him.
John is a 35 year old male working as an Insurance Broker with an MNC. He is married and...
November 2011
1 post
Books, books
Off late I’ve consumed the following. nice reads :)
Hegarty on Advertising
Made to stick
Black Jack Vol 1
Black Jack Vol 3
Many more are…WIP (work in progress) ;)
October 2011
1 post
4 tags
Evangelizing Envy: The power of 'ONE' + 'STORY'
Exclusivity
Auction houses thrive on this. Get an item that is in limited (or a one off) supply and make people bid for it at the altar of exclusivity. Just the fact that this specific item is in short supply could potentially activate a ridiculous amount of (dormant) demand, trigger a desire, and then interestingly morph into a ‘want’ and before you pinch yourself to test your...
August 2011
1 post
Steve Jobs - The FIRST FAN of all things Apple
You must have no doubt read so many write ups about Steve Jobs in the wake of his resignation from the Apple of the world. No exception here, as each day I get to read so many interesting articles and a number of ‘post mortems’ of his role as the CEO, the salesman, the evangelist of most (if not all) products that ever came out from Apple’. I was reading this artcile on Steve...
June 2011
1 post
How GroupOn can create or obliterate your Brand
My previous post was about Groupon, and I couldn’t help but notice not one but two cartoons by the very insightful marketing cartoonist: Tom Fishburne. Click on any of his cartoons and you would get a write up with insights coupled with humour, with a generous dash of reality and seductive topping of realistic sarcasm.
After having received relentless mails everyday on some or the other...
May 2011
1 post
Of Business Models and Lost Opportunities
It’s always like an “OMG I didn’t quite see it that way” moment, when we begin to discover what some business models actually are. For eg, a number of years ago I remember the first time when someone told me that McDonald’s is actually NOT in Burgers business but in real estate business. (There is actually a How Stuff Works page that explains how the back bone of its...
September 2010
1 post
You must be in Advertising
Just came across this Dilbert Strip. Couldn’t resist from posting it :)
August 2010
1 post
Answer is the Problem itself
Though the following blog post speaks about a specific product, I think the underlying insight has potential implications for marketers in a broader context.
Q: As a B2B business if you want to sell a product that is a more efficient work place management system, how do you do it?
Ans 1: By making a great presentation on how MORE efficient it is as opposed to other players?
Ans 2: By trying...
June 2010
1 post
Redesign of the "Champagne of Beers"
I always wondered why I haven’t come across many (or any for that matter) beer brands that bottle their beer in clear bottles as opposed to brown or green tinted ones. I know there are some practical issues involved in this - like the beer loosing its freshness and character (if I may call it so) if it is directly exposed to sun. But I have always felt that this could be a great opportunity...
April 2010
1 post
The New Consumer Sweet Spot
Last month I was back from a very hectic set of trips to China and India. After the business leg of the trip I had a chance to extend it to a small vacation. Though the ‘vacation’ didn’t exactly turn out to be a pleasure trip, it has given me an opportunity to travel from the North to the South and to the East of India - by flight and also by trian. These travels have given me an...
January 2010
12 posts
Of Great News, Apple and Splotches
It has been a crazy week at work and it has robbed me off any available time to ideate and write. In fact there are quite a few topics in the pipeline about which I was planning to pen (rather ‘key’) about. But before that there is a very heartening update that I had wanted to share this week.
My blog post on The Best Touch Points in India for marketing Fabric Conditioners, has been...
Indian Entertainment. Redefined
I guess it was some two years ago that I came across this one in some blog. It showed how some of even the best brands of the Indian media industry, sometimes fail to exercise even a minimal sense of prudence in the way they dish out news. Check this out:
Though there must have been some arcane and remote rationale behind presenting this particular news in the ‘entertainment’...
When the bottle itself becomes the hope
For those who missed the first part of this discussion, please read here. The question was, as a brand that is serious about its intentions, what can it do to break the vicious circle of ‘commoditising’ the entire men’s deo category in India?
Thank you everyone for taking time to post your views for my post. Especially the discussions that I had with my digital planner friend, and my FMCG...
Of ice-creams and emotions
Ever wondered how exactly Cause Marketing works? It always intrigued me and sometimes interested me. Well ok, it does speak about a brand rallying behind an apparently noble cause, about an ostentatious association with some non profit/not for profit/not so non profit organizations to give them a better muscle to drive their endeavors etc. But if I were to apply some rational analysis to dissect...
Sell Hope in the twisted bottle in a better way
Let’s speak about getting an advantage in the mating game with stunning beauties. Let’s speak about having some of the hottest babes on our bikes. Let’s speak about your wildest fantasies coming true. Now before you start getting ideas let me clarify that we are talking about Deodorants and their Brand Positioning in India.
For an average Indian consumer, a deo - no matter which...
The Best Touch Point for marketing Fabric...
For those who missed the first part regarding the Best Marketing Touch Points in India, please read here. The question is - in a country like India where the penetration level of Fabric Conditioners is almost insignificant, how do we leverage some of the most suitable touch points so as to interact with the consumers in a meaningful way and thereby drive trial (which is the first requirement if we...
The Curious Case of the Pizza Turnaround Story
I shall fulfill my promise to continue the Fabric Conditioner story tomorrow. In fact even started writing my take on that. But accidentally I stumbled upon this very interesting piece. So, couldn’t resist to write on this for today. This is literally ‘flash.. flash’ for me.
I just realized that Domino’s has used a very bold strategy to create new news. And I should say - some very well planned...
The curious case of a smart editor and a lame...
I was almost done with my draft for a new blog post and then a divine mess happened. I inserted a html tag in the text and clicked on that in the editor and alas! I saw the editor opening the website of the link!
At first I was impressed by the seemingly multifaceted functionality of tumblr’s text editor - the editor didn’t seem to care about my ‘impression’
Then I coolly...
Thinking about the best marketing touch points in...
They say that Fabric Conditioners as a market is yet to take off in India. They say that the penetration for this category is very minuscule. Though I do not know the exact numbers for this, I know that this could be for real. The problem is trial - how do we drive greater levels of trial among consumers so that they can sample, test and see its utility over some period of time.
Now let’s...
3 tags
Newton and Apple
Well today happens to be Sir Isaac Newton’s b’day! Yeah the one on whom, legend says that, an apple has fallen and yuppie gravity was discovered! First check out this cool Google Doodle commemorating 4th Jan 2010 as Newton’s B’day.
Actually this is the first time that I noticed that Google Doodle has come up with a non-static design. I mean, as soon as you open...
My Next Two Books
Some crazy insights from '3 idiots'
Airtel - 3 Idiots: The Co-branding Potential
We know that Airtel has done some in-movie branding stuff in 3 idiots. Now as I was seeing this movie for the 2nd time, a crazy thought occurred to me. Somehow I felt that Airtel has a very interesting potential to harness. Let me explain it.
Every movie reviewer and even the most seasoned disciples of bollywood melodrama have unanimously agreed...
November 2009
1 post
@GuyKawasaki:
‘Unfriend’: The Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year holykaw.alltop.com/unfrien…
October 2009
3 posts
Of tumbler, tumblr. and insights
Came across this presentation by David Gillespie here. It is one of the fantastic and very concise (notwithstanding its size) presentations with a bunch of precious insights - Insights that are extremely relevant and possibly near future proof.
Would strongly suggest the reader to check out the presentation - trying my best to resist the temptation of reproducing some of the most interesting...
tumblr
Ma first from tumblr