The Rules of Mallvertising

Was at the Inorbit mall, Malad the other day...Saw one of those increasingly ubiquitous LCD screens - some in-your-face locations, others tucked in corners...

Had some thoughts and observations on the increasingly relevant subject of Mallvertising!

1. Treat them as more electronic hoardings than TVCs.Which means LARGE FONTS, clutter free, very less copy and visually engaging....Lets not forget the LCD screen is nestled in a Mall environ with many more distractions!

2. From WIIFM to WIIFMN. That's What's in it for me NOW? Saw couple of TVCs playing on the LCD screen . Would have preferred to see where the SALE is, which store on which floor has a new range, any contests, promotions, trial offers...
Last mile communication must be about WIIFMNOW...

3. Mute Check. Another test that we could subject our messages to, is to see if they are comprehensible on 'mute'. The Mall has it's own decibel level and the LCD messaging might get lost unless it is 'Mute-Checked'.

4. It may make more sense to model the last mile communication on Cinema Slides.. Focussed, fast and 3-sec long(not 30sec).

5. Think catchment not catch-phrase.Related to points 1 & 2 above.
Slogans, what's the big idea, brand propositions could be suspended at the mall. It's a different buyer mind-set that we are looking at. In a hurry, the mood being part-indulgent-part-VFM.

Although I hate the word - eye-balls, Mallvertising is made more difficult as we are addressing travelling eye-balls! And the last thing people need is some esoteric brand advertising...

As mobile, digital screens, sensors, blue-tooth, RFID technologies develop, I am sure the science of Mallvertising will be more focussed and engaging for the customers...

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

Let me be a train. No logo please!

I am sure many of you must have read about the decision by South Western Railways to auction the rights to have a train named after brands!! So guys, brace yourself for Kurkure Mail, Pepsi Express, LG Rajdhani, Ujala Local and more...

The initiative, called Brand Train, basically entails the use of a train as an advertising space, where the brand name would feature in all of that particular train’s announcements, reserved tickets, reservation charts and so on. As of now the deal is limited to certain summer specials, but if successful the experiment could be enlarged to embrace more trains.

In fact there was a debate in the TOI on this...It's one of those stupid marketing ideas that have no concern for environment sensitivity. Yes, It may earn the railways some money but at the immense cost of 'aesthetic, visual and cultural pollution'.

1. Argues an emotionally charged Kautilya Kumar( don't know who he is, as TOI doesn't believe in sharing details about its writers and contributors)- What’s in a name? A lot, particularly if the name invokes an imaginary space rich in culture and geography.

Imagine the Netravati Express being renamed after a soap or a sari? Or Rupasi Bangla being prefixed with the brand name of a coffee or a condom?

Netravati and Rupasi Bangla stimulate our imagination. The former, a river that cuts through the Konkan, invokes a world that is lush, green and fertile.

The name captures the sound and the silence of a river that links the Sahyadri to the Arabian Sea. Rupasi Bangla celebrates the memory of a great poet; it captures the landscape of Jibanananda Das’s evocative poetry. A train thus becomes a bridge connecting a traveller to the cultural memory of a people and the natural wealth of a place.

2. Train names reflect geography, culture; make us realise our diversity...I don't think there is any space or sense for marketing/ advertising to enter anywhere near a train.

It's an utterly ill-thought, idiotic idea that must be protested against and nipped in the bud.

Also, with the laws of diminishing returns having already set in the over-stimulated out-door landscape, we need more surprise and sensitivity in the creative expression of commercial messages.

Mere plastering the logo won't sell more soap, sandals or saris!

The strands of DNA

About a year back, two newspapers were launched in Mumbai - HT and DNA! Contrary to my initial expectations, DNA outsells HT by a good margin...I guess DNA Mumbai was amongst the most hi-profile and expensive media brand launches in 2006!

I regularly read(okay snack) both HT and DNA and have been following the brand trajectory rather keenly. My thots on brand DNA(triggered by their new campaign)in no particular order...

1. The Dainik Bhaskar group(which co-owns DNA) has perfected the art of launching newspapers in new markets after doing a huge consumer research...Full points to people-led-marketing . It works.I think it helped DNA get its initial lead over HT in Mumbai. The marketing efforts also looked sufficiently distinct from the leader TOI.

2. I sort of liked the voice-of-people tonality of the launch campaign. Of course, it helped that HT had a totally ambiguous 'Let there be light' launch campaign done by Ogilvy!

3. On any given day, I have always found more content(in an absolute sense) in DNA than HT.

4. But what's perhaps lacking in DNA is a POV, a sharper articulation of what brand DNA is...On the other hand, HT under Vir Sanghvi appears to me a newspaper brand with a balanced POV. Though ironically it's Mumbai launch was with the cover story on the scandalous Salman - Ash tapes:-)

5. I feel DNA should have worked more on the people-generated content/ brand landscape. A more approachable, a more conversational brand. Not just in content but also in tonality.
Clearly the current campaign - 'Start a Conversation' is a bit distant and cold for the brand as I carry it in my head as a reader...

Conversations with strangers/ anyone often start with a degree of hesitancy, a certain languidness and a general warmth over chai/coffee tonality...
Which this campaign with its stark images sorely lacks even as it hits you from massive hoardings in the city.

6. As a reader I have felt more comfortable with the design/lay-out of HT. It's smart, it has an even spread of content...Neither too text heavy. Nor too visually indulgent. Just the right amount of information for a quick but relaxing browse.

DNA on the other hand chokes me with information even though I admire its attempt to feed me more news every morning. Relative to HT its not easy on the senses. I would have loved a little more naturalness in the lay-out rather than a sense of contrived exactness. The DNA layout appears a bit FMCG-ised...

The models in the current ad campaign are like that. Cardboard picture-perfect-caricatures...Like the product, the brand communication could do better if it loses its stiffness...

I think in the case of DNA, its a case of the product leading the brand...And a change of agency from Rediffusion-DY&R to Contract hasn't helped much.

The brand needs to focus on its DNA, which to me the reader appears to be a strand of collaboration, conversation, cause and of course good content!!

The Future is Copyright:-)

Every time I have spring-cleaned my eclectic cartons of 'sundry collectibles/ scraps/ physical thot blurbs from the past, I have always discovered real gems...

Must hone it into a planning tool soon...LOL

What you see is a BPL corporate print ad made by Rediffusion DY&R from the Jan 2000 issue of the magazine The Week!

The copy reads...
Chillers of the Future!
Will your refrigerator converse and calculate calories?
Will it be made of titanium, or kryptonite?
Will it freeze air into food?
Only one thing's for sure...it will be BPL
The future is copyright BPL!

With the benefit of hind-sight and the continued stress of the myriad problems that have plagued BPL, brand BPL has been the only unsurety:-)
This print campaign was a visible one(of its time). In fact the BPL - Believe in Yourselfcampaign with Amitabh was perhaps ver1.0 of the 'India Shining/ India Poised story!

Is it available online? Possible to get that campaign? Meraj? Your agency...

The Smallness Of Big Brands

Few days ago, on Rashmi Bansal's(the editor of JAM magazine) blog, I had come across a comment by an investment banker(Alok Mehta) on how HLL was doing a promo on Surf Excel...sms the number of stains you can wash away with Surf and Levers will pay Rs.5 lakh towards Mumbai's needy children...On the surface a noble marketing exercise. Beneath it some eye-wash!

The back of the envelope calculations show that HLL and the telecom companies will make more moolah from the promo than the money contributed to the said cause!

1. Lets be very clear what you want to do with your brand. If the intent is to contribute honestly and generously to the cause, you don't need to ride on cheap gimmicks and schemes.
Coming from Levers, on the back of an Effie for Surf and another one for Lifebuoy -'Little Gandhi' campaign, this really is a let downer!

The amount also is so 'chindi'(small) that it is amply clear that this is more promotion than do-good brand work!

2. The other 'Big Brand' that exhibits smallness is 'Times of India'.( I must admit that content wise it's made a comeback lately) For some reason, in this age of participative media where brands(including most media brands) are encouraging a dialogue between the journo and the reader, TOI refuses to give any details on its writers. It also doesn't give out the e-mail ids of the journos so that one can give feed-back!(Unlike say an HT, IE, DNA, etc.)

Let me share another of their recent marketing schemes - an sms feeback on the articles branded - My Times, My Voice(sic)

It's quite evident that sms feedback is another of TOI's tricks to earn more money out of unsuspecting readers! Gimme a break, what intelligent feedback can a reader really give through an sms message...

In an age where consumers(like you and I) seek authenticity, some of the biggest brands reek of smallness! And may I add dishonesty...

Do share your experiences(recent)on the 'smallness of big brands'!

Branding Gyan from Javed Akhtar

A while ago, I had picked up a book on Javed Saheb by Nasreen Munni Kabeer(the writer who has penned a biography of SRK as well). This one's on conversations on Hindi Cinema with Javed Akhtar.

Now, Javed Saheb as we all know is among the finest script writers, a fine lyricist. But according to me he is also a first rate planner. Over the years, he has displayed his intuitive understanding of the nuances of branded communication, especially during his script-writing days with Salim Khan. And is adept at integrating people, places, concepts, brands, celebrities in memorable concoctions. After all with Salim Khan, Javed Saheb was instrumental in building one of India's biggest brand - the Angry Young Amitabh.

Am recapping some gems which I had gleaned from this book...I would recommend this book to all. It is simple and yet has a fine texture of thoughts...

1. "There is one more state in the country, and that is Hindi Cinema. Just like Punjabi culture and Rajasthani culture may differ but we understand the diference, their cultures are not from a different planet. In the same way, Hindi cinema's culture is quite different from Indian culture, but it's not alien to us; we understand it. The nearest example for a non-Indian to understand is the Western in Hollywood."

2. Sample his thoughts on the brand personality of Vijay from Deewar!
"The only way that people who have been hurt very badly save themselves is by hiding their emotions. If they show them, it would hurt even more. So they develop a kind of hard crust, but behind that hard crust they are soft people.

3. On the brand - Deewar
"It is very difficult for Vijay to express his love for Parveen Babi. It is equally difficult for him to express his love for his brother or mother. There is a storm raging within him so he has closed the doors. That is how such characters feel safe. They build a Deewar between themselves and their emotions!

4. And on that most famous of dialogues - 'Mere pass ma hai'"Perhaps Ravi( Shashi Kapoor's) dialogue would not have worked quite as well without Vijay's monologue that preceded the punchline. You have to orchestrate a scene. If you try to bombard the listener's sensibility all the time, his sensibility will be so battered that when you want him to feel something he'll be too tired."

Memory fails me. Will add more to the list above...soon.