Here Comes Clickstreamers

Dentsu Communications, the Indian subsidiary of Japanese advertising giant Denstu has formed a joint venture with Mumbai-based digital advertising firm Connecturf. Read the story on DNA here

- According to Dentsu, about 46 million Indians were using the internet in September 2007, a jump of nearly 43% from a year earlier. It expects revenue from internet advertising in India to rise by over 3.5 times from current levels to more than $200 million in 2012.

- Rather than in-house development of talent for digital advertising, ad majors have ramped up expertise in this domain either through organic growth or alliances. For example, in 2007, advertising major WPP acquired Delhi-based agency Qasar Media and in March this year, Lintas and Pinstorm entered into a pay-for-performance alliance.

- I agree with Sandeep Goyal when he says - "A specialist’s expertise in the domain was essential. “These skills cannot be built in-house and it makes better sense to align with the best,”

Digital winds are blowing inside Indian agencies now:-)

Cricketainment : T20 Ishtyle

Reams have already been written on the T20 and its effects, implications and the aftermath...

Just thot shud do some tukbandi to add to the noise/ fun:-)

Yahaan cricket hai kum, entertainment hai plenty
Welcome to the BRAND new world of twenty twenty.

Alag alag team mein saare favourite star
Kisko cheer karen, kiska karun intezaar?

Ekta Kapoor ko laga hai gehra jhatka
Finally KSBKBT ka TRP hai atka!!

Dada aur SRK har din naya episode dikhayenge
T20 malik ab dressing room mein bhi jaayenge!

Bechara Charu Sharma, ho gaya raato-raat sack
Mallaya Saheb ka kehna - nahin tha business ka usko knack!

Sony ki dabi kismet, bahut din baad jaagi
10 sec ke 10 lakh, Sony ne ab maangi!!

T20 ka mausam itna ho gaya hai cool
Ki inflation ki maar bhi log gaye hain bhool!!

Cricket, entertainment, marketing ka yeh hai naya 'achaar'(pickle)
Pata nahin agle mahine se hum kya karenge yaar:-)

Ferment, Huddle and BarNone

When I took up my current job some two month back, one of the stuff that really excited me was the potential to integrate the 5 odd SBUs - in digital, OOH, data driven marketing, health & lifestyle and events & promotions...

The task needless to say is tough as hell but that's also the exciting part.

One of the things that I have been trying to do with the help of colleagues is to start conversation hubs within the SBUs.

The first modest gathering of three was BarNone - the mid-to-senior team conversations(actually to be honest still tweaking with the brand name). BarNone was held at Red Box in Bandra with Andee and Leroy as founder members:-) Happened in 3rd wk of Apr.

The next was for the young blood in the system. Planners and trainees and passionate crowd sourced talent. The first Huddle happened last Sunday - May 18th at Carter Road CCD.

In the words of my planner Sonal - "In between sipping scary looking blue slushes, some really cool initiatives were discussed. With conversations about music, virals, movies… and an impromptu performance by a guitarist member of The Huddle, the first meet was just like huddles should be – inspiring and fun."

And the last one - Ferment is going to happen with the SBU heads in June...

Our TQ(twtr quotient)/ conversation quotient is getting higher every month:-)

Why People Love Twtr

Just stumbled upon this video on why people love twitter...At 6m19s, its a bit long though...

The day just whizzed pass!!!

Blabnote : The World's 1st Vocal Social Network

Conversations, social media, ferments within my company and social experiments have taken/ are taking quite a lot of my time. But am enjoying this social school.

Pawar - the Mican trainee who is doing a project on digital media sent a link for blab-note - the voice-only social network a while back! Check it out here...

Blabnote, a British start up that is currently in private beta, has created what may be the world’s first “vocal social network.”

The product is far from perfect but it's the first step towards a voice-enabled-interaction future...The keyboard must now have a clear expiry date:-)

Twitter. Thwitter. Reflection Time

A variation on twitter. Thwitter will ask one question - what are you thinking now?. You gotta answer in no more than 140 characters.

I guess there is a tremendous need for a thwitter in our creative/ knowledge economy.

1. Between two blog posts I have 10 other ideas which I fritter away...Now I will thwitter away:-)

2. Thwitter might force us to step back and reflect more often than merely do stuff...I have to remind myself to think hard, to step back and thwitter on any given day!

3. Maybe the underlying search-and-match software can help put me in touch with all the people who are thwittering on the same topic at the same time...

4. One can look at the thread of weekly/ monthly thwitters and see what one's mind was upto at the thweet level...

5. Maybe I will use less post-its with thwitter by-my-side...

Any thwitters on thwitter:-)

The Anaesthesia of Unconcern - 2

Guys, I managed to get in touch with the father of the little boy in coma, Mohammed Manzar, a labourer. Just called him on his cell: 9324371628.

The boy, Mohd. Javed is currently in Hinduja Hospital, bed no. 37 on the 7th floor. He is responding a little. But perhaps will take months before he recovers completely.

In case you want to help him, please call his father. I just did a while back!

Mumbai owes it to this innocent victim of the petty politics of hate!

Jara Sochiye Aur Channel Badalye

Zee News changed its logo and the baseline few minutes back. The brand is close to my heart coz I co-created the last baseline - 'Haqeeqat Jaisi Khabar Waisi' along with the Leo Burnett creative Kosty in 2003 or so...

Few months back I had also pitched for the business from Bates, although I don't think it was my contribution that won the business:-)

The re-launched logo has a black back-ground instead of red. Big deal!!The launch TVC looks tired and has a sense of deja vu. Too many brands have done similar executions...

The hyperbole is still there. The programme - Badi Khabar at 10pm was sensational but disturbing for family viewing!!

Going back to my lo-fat diet of Indian media!! Soch liya...

The Anaesthesia of Unconcern

Before the story gets buried in the debris of a hectic life, I wanted to do something about it.

Mohd. Javed, a 7 year boy was stoned while in a train to Bihar by our reality politician - Raj Thackeray's misguided goons. Because this boy is poor, a Muslim and from Bihar, there will be no more media mentions of him. Read the story on e-TOI here.

No candle marches. No NDTV sponsored sms frenzy. No 'Prince-styled-boy-in-a-ditch' drama!

A life might be lost while Mumbai police watches Raj tapes and gleefully finds nothing wrong!

A week later, there will be another rabble-rousing rally targetting north Indians.
The anaesthesia of unconcern dulls us all.

Drop in STD rates, liquor at 5-star hotels to be cheaper and sundry such stories jostle for our attention and Mohd. Javed is already forgotten by the city!!

Have mailed Mateen.Hafeez@timesgroup.com(the journo covering the story) to get the boy's contacts. He needs about 50K. Maybe we all can help him! Although Raj Thackeray should foot the hospital bill for Javed if he is a saccha Manoos(Marathi or otherwise).

The Factory of the Mind

Most days i don't know when to shut the factory of the mind!

1. Work expands to fill the amount of time available.

2. Knowledge work has great elasticity.

3. Web 2.0 has collapsed all recognisable differences between work and play.

4. In an always connected world, when do you switch off? Do you switch off at the official hour which is a mere legacy of the factory days??

5. Why do I/ anyone get paid the same on their most productive days and the least...

Everything about the work-world has changed, but many things about the work-place remain the same!!

Shutting the mental assembly line now. Is it possible?

Cuteness Can Kill

Hey guys, this cute Vodaphone Pug ad, which comes after every over during the IPL matches is now killing me with its repetitiveness!

Or am I the only one? Vodaphone and Ogilvy have yet again cracked a cute script and gone back to the Hutch days.

But somebody restrain their media spends. I loved it. My wife loved it. My son adores it. The bai, dhobi, driver all of them love it. Now chill guys and pull back some monies for different stuff.

Overdose of anything is bad for health/ brand health/ viewer sanity!!!
Any more dosage, and a cute ad will turn pug-noxious( or at least pug-rritation)...LOL