Friemily : Friends Become Family

While the TRP obsessed saas-bahu serials still revolve primarily around the family, in urban India amongst the upper middle class, friends are the new hub of life! Well the phenomena is not entirely new.

Maybe Bollywood tapped it first in 'Dil Chahta Hai'. The cover story of Outlook(Jun 25th issue) is on this theme. Some highlights from the issue mashed up with few of my thoughts, in no particular order...

1. "With joint families being dispersed around the country, sibling and parental ties weaken and reliance on friends grows."
There is a limit to which family ties can be maintained even on the low cost mobile telephony available in the country!!

2. "Families many-a-time are judgemental and inhibiting. Friends largely respect your independence, individualistic mores."
In a time-pressured society, young couples do not have the patience to deal with relatively more constricting familial mores.

3. "Family relationships can be hierarchical, weighed down by baggage of old feuds and quarrels. Friendships offer more liberating, guilt-free relationships."
The rapid changes in lifestyles, work-patterns, adoption of new social behaviours are better accepted, accomodated and enjoyed with friends than family.

4. "With the pace of change all around, parents fail to keep up with the new life and experiences of their young children however hard they try or liberal they try to become. Friends fill the gap!"

5. "Traditionally, the family was the inner core, while even the closest of friendships still stood outside that sanctum. But now it's all mingled, with friends becoming a part of one's family, often standing in for the family itself."
I remember while I was growing up, my father would take pains to explain the difference between 'dost' and 'bhai' even though the 'bhai' in question would be the 'second cousin' and the 'dost' - the closest buddy!

On the flip side, one may argue that family is the new friend. Blood brothers, fathers, father-in-laws/ mom-in-laws act, behave and accommodate more and more like friends...

There is a casualisation of relationships not just at the work-place but also at home. Age and experience are no longer setting the rules of the family.

Technology, first distance and dispersion and then a death-of-distance and other frenetic changes all around are re-inventing most of our social institutions and mores...

P.S. A bit of factoid. Just discovered when I type 'Friemily' in Google sesrch, my post is the page 1, item 1 search back:-)

Expectation Management in a Brand Fatigued World

I remember at the Carnatic Music & Business Creativity work-shop that I attended some time back, my friend Ram had posed a question to Sridhar if brands can create excitement by controlling the supply.

In the past few days, two cult brands have demonstrated it. The first one is the most over-used power-pointed case study in the world(ipod) and the other the greatest 'children's rage' of the century(the Harry Potter series. Both have immaculately created an unprecedented hype around their launch!

It's a clever use of pre-launch PR and expectation management...
The Harry Potter count-down poster at the Crossword next to Neo's day care!

The iPhone fan-atic in NYC!

Happydent Makes A Dent At Cannes

A round of applause for the Happydent film. It has won a Silver Lion in the sub-category, Sweet Foods and Snacks, and a Bronze Lion for Best Use of Music.

World class execution with an Indian ethos...
3 cheers to Prasoon and the Mc Cann team!

Monsoon Wedding

It happens only in India...

Picture courtesy : Hindustan Times

Evolution of our Business

It is heartening to see Dove "Evolution" - Ogilvy, Toronto's viral-video-turned-commercial that re-creates the multi-step process of turning an average beauty into a billboard-worthy babe win the film Grand Prix at Cannes yesterday...It's unarguably a great idea, greatly executed!!

Apparently the TVC first entered in the viral video category...but then the jury took a call and shifted it to the film category as they felt real strong about the idea!

Was reading the write-up on adage.com a while ago. Picked up these...

1. The spot also earned the Cyber Grand Prix earlier this week.

2. "We moved it from one category to another [corporate image] because we felt that strongly about it", said Bob Scarpelli, film jury Chairman.

3. Redefine the categoryScarpelli also suggested that awarding Dove the top honor could possibly lay down the groundwork for redefinition of the film category itself.

"It's interesting that this particular piece of film actually started out as a viral video on the internet," he said.

"It didn't sway the jury one way or the other, but we thought it is indicative of the way our industry is changing. Someday viral films, mobile phone films, should be in this category, because it's not the television category, it's the film category. Maybe that would be more reflective of reality today and in the future."

I feel Evolution was the right choice. Would have been disappointed if Sony Paint had clinched it. Feel 'Paint'is a bold re-enactment of the 'Balls' film...Great craft but somewhat rehashed idea.

Lets hope to see more viral and mobile films here in India as well where at the moment a very substantial part of our creative fraternity is still obsessed with big banner films where the definition of better = more expensive films!

Inch by inch our business is evolving towards a mash of multiple platforms, media neutral, un-silo creative solutions...And it's coming faster than we anticipated.

Next step in Evolution. Revolution:-)

Sunday, Strategy and Serendipity

I always wonder how one phone call or a sudden change in plans can change the shape of the day, a year or even life...

Sitting in cafe Moshe at Fab India near fountain, watching the pubescent monsoon drizzle, I just called a friend of mine(who is into film production). It was otherwise a routine, quiet, complete home-chores-on Sunday kind of day!

By chance, my friend was in Colaba. So, we had coffee and a long conversation together.

Caught up on Bollywood gossip. Discussed 3 business ideas(one of my favourite subjects for the last 2-3 years), got some leads on good designers!!

I have realized lately that almost all of my better ideas come from serendipity...Be it a chance conversation, a google talk thread, a news item buried in a magazine section browsed at the airport...

And that I have realized is perhaps the best way to capture good ideas...Over time I have been trying to perfect the art of archiving/ storing/ referencing these random ideas.

Strategy in an uncertain world is a lot about serendipity. Even when handling big and small brands, I feel we spend far too much of out time over consistency. Whereas it would really help the brand if we focussed on surprise and serendipity...

Divine Intervention

Saw this banner ad in Delhi. Translated in English it reads - Lord Shree Rama's setu(bridge) is being demolished. Do attend the historic mammoth rally in defence of 'Shree Rama's Bridge'

Amusing, isn't it!!

The Irony of Choice

A while ago I bought our new refrigerator. An LG frost free 330L from Vijay Sales.

However it was the most unsatisfying durable purchase ever!

There was plenty of choice and yet all of them looked alike! Tall, grey and handsome...LG looked like Samsung which looked like Whirlpool which in turn looked like Godrej...

Finally after 10 minutes of point-less comparison, we settled on LG. I wasn't convinced...But then we had to be back home in time for little Neo.

Rewind to 1997, when I bought my first Kelvinator in Chennai. A real beauty - 180litres of quiet direct-cool mechanism! I still miss it...It had character, a distinct identity( with its cherry red colour) and no post-purchase disonace!!

And I have been having these pre-and post purchase dissonance in almost all my white and brown good purchases in the recent past.

- I never know whether I have made a good/ best choice.
- When it comes to last mile differentiation, brands/ companies are relatively inept.
- There is a perennial fear of obsolescence at the back of the mind!!

Looks like the irony of the choice economy is here to stay!

Sandeep Di Gaddi

Saw Oceans 13 yesterday. Full paisa wasool. And Hollywood is so close to Bollywood these days only far more slicker as always...

And in the auto ride back home had the luxury of Sandeep di gaddi...
This guy has the most gizmo fitted auto in Bandra:-)

A functional B/W TV, magazine holder, ash-try, first-aid box,social messages, designer meter et al!

(These are the first images from my Nokia E50...Its handier than my old faithful the Nikon Coolpix compact. It has taken me 2 full months to download the PC suite to my thinkpad...

It's true. At least for me. The rate of technology innovations is racing far ahead of its adoption rates!!

And Now User Generated Packaging

While the cola company is facing trouble in India, internationally it's embracing a design over-drive...Read a report in the ET today. Some pointers from the article!

1. Pepsi has changed it's design a mere 10 times in the last 109 years but it's ready to change it 35 times in the next 12 months!!

It reminds me of Alex Bogusky's comment that today the strength of brands is driven not by consistency but by surprise.

2. The designs include images relating to cars, music, fashion. the work being inspired by consumer 'passion points'.

3. After UGC(user-generated-content) now it's the turn of user-generated-packaging. In the US, Pepsi is launching a 'Design our Pepsi can' contest. Consumers get to submit their designs and even judge the designs of others based on a set of criteria set by Pepsi.

Packaging has always been one of the neglected, rigid and under-tapped areas of marketing. Hopefully, things will change fast. How will it impact the design companies though:-)

And what will happen to the Sacred Brand Manual? And clients and agency guys whose sole job was/ is to ensure the strictest adherence to the logo regime!!

Looks like in the future many logos will have the elasticity, the quirkiness and the topicality of the MTV logo!

Yeh Toh Bada Toing Hai...

As I opened my mail in the morning, I find this news on agencyfaqs. The wise men of ASCI have decided that the 'Amul Macho advertisement was not so obscene as to give rise to grave or widespread offence!'

If the Amul Macho ad is not offensive then I don't know what would be offensive. The grammar, the expressions, the inane double-meaning words/ sounds like 'yeh toh bada toing hai' are all downright vulgar!

I don't think lower middle class families even in UP and Bihar(the major markets for this brand) would enjoy watching this ad either with their kids or with their parents. And almost 100% of the house-holds are still single TV...

And Pushpi's argument that the ad has been well received and the sales have jumped is besides the point. Titillation in any manner will definitely get noticed be it for an ad, a 24X7 breaking news channel or a Bollywood item number! But that's no justification for 'vulgarity' and 'distastefulness!

I guess we have a little responsibility to shape the popular culture aesthetics through the content(ads included) that we create keeping in mind the younger generation.

Yes, the ad is indeed clutter-breaking. But it's also trash-generating! The soundness of the thought ‘Amul Macho. Crafted for Fantasies’, is debatable. But there was no necessity of it being lewd!

Maybe, the wise men of ASCI don't watch TV with their families anymore. If they did, they wouldn't give it the clean chit...

Javed Saheb Ki Baatein

This is my second post in the past few months on/about Javed Akhtar. I am kinda enamoured by the man. Amidst all the mediocrity that floats in Bollywood he still manages to pen down beautiful lyrics, share great thoughts and imbue a poets sensibility to all things around.

In fact some time back when I took an Incubates session, I put Javed Saheb in my top 5 planners list outside of advertising!!

Over the week-end read an interview of his. Two of his comments are worth noting from the interview.

Q. What's the flip side of being a judge?
JA. When somebody with great hope comes to me with very little capability, I feel very awkward to break that illusion. On one hand you are irritated by this person's high opinions, but, on the other hand, you feel bad. Is it right to break their illusion and make them unhappy for the rest of their lives is one question I grapple with. In hindsight, I think that's the right thing to do though it makes me very uncomfortable.

It's a dilemma one often faces in work life as well...But it's tough to take a call and pass judgement. Many years back, one of my early bosses advised me to give up planning as he felt I was not good enough. Luckily, it just made a small dent in my pride/ego. I stuck to my conviction:-)

Q. What are the challenges involved in writing for a period film like Jodha Akbar?
JA. - You have to understand the ethos of any story whether it's set in the modern time or the past.

- I try to understand the wavelength of a film, its temperament and ethos, the intellectual and social level of its characters, and then try to bring the right vocabulary to the songs.

I love the way he approaches his lyrics. His nuanced understanding, depth of research never fails to impress me. If you can lay your hands on do pick up Javed Akhtar's Talking Films - his conversations about Indian cinema. I think it's the best 'branding book by an Indian'!

In case you are interested you could have a dekko at my Oct 16 post - Branding Gyan from Javed Akhtar!

Picture courtesy www.bbc.co.uk

Carnatic Music & Business Creativity

Odd combination but this is precisely what the workshop was all about! As with many such lateral diversions from my routine planner life, this workshop participation too was triggered by my friend Ram!

Organised by R. Sridhar( an Ogilvy veteran of 25 years and now an Innovation coach who runs IDEAS - RS), Bombay Jayshree(amongst the most sought after Carnatic musician and concert artistes) and T M Krishna(one of the leading figures of Carnatic music - a performer, teacher, composer, researcher)

When it comes to workshops in general. I am quite a cynic...I think they are largely corporate 'tamasha' and not much! But more about that in some other post...This one was different.

Between TMK and BJ, they played great soulful music. Even though I am a cipher when it comes to classical music, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The loose agenda was to learn from the lives of 7 great Carnatic Music maestros - Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar - who introduced the current day crisper concert format!!

TN Rajarathnam Pillai - who fought to give the nagaswaram it's rightful place

Semmangudi Srinavasa Iyer - who influenced not only Carnatic music but also its organisation and administration.

GN Balasubramaniam - whose style and bani generated a new kind of audience fervour.

Palghat Mani Iyer - the first and last word in percussion

MS Subbulakshmi - who gained Carnatic music a place within India and in the International arena!

and TR Mahalingam - the maverick and the genius who gave a completely new dimension to the flute!

What I loved most about this workshop was the music and the erudite articulation of TM Krishna. Among the finest communicators I have met in along time...

Some nuggets from the worlshop:
1. Ariyakudi's strategy of 'Stop the concert when the audience wants more"...I guess all news channels, most celebrity endorsers cam learn from this insight LOL

2. TR Mahalingam's strategy of 'Changing the instrument'. He made the 8th hole in the flute to enhance the music...I guess often we get trapped in models and the rigid structures of our business. This advice is handy to tool around with rigidity in thoughts!

3. To me Ariyakudi appeared to be a great planner!! As he understood the shift in the audience and culture in the 1930s...

From few listeners to many
From exclusive royal patronage to mass patronage
From elaborate improvisation to briskness and brevity
From eight items per concert to almost twenty!!
From pure reverential listening to concert ticketing.

4. The story of the ever learning MS Subbulakshmi. She would go to listen to a relatively unknown musician in Mylapore if she felt there was something to learn from him/ her...

A great attempt at an unusual mishram of music and business creativity. Hats off to Sridhar and team for pulling this off! The prototype beta version would definitely evolve over ver 2.0!

All in all I loved the humility of these wise musicians. There is a lesson for all of us in the larger marketing and communication community who are often arrogant in our ignorance!!The life and the lessons of the maestros has been captured well in the coffee-table like book Voices within Carnatic Music. Worth a read!