Neha Likes - Everything Digital

Have you noticed many changes in the hash-tags off lately on Twitter? Over the time these hash-tags by the brands are misused for promotions or contests. As far as I can connect, they are used so that people or target audience can be associated with particular topic of discussion.

Brands started promoting the tweets with relevant hash tags which were mainly keywords with which people with common interest as that of that company can be identified. But yesterday I came across a weird trending hash-tag on twitter which was as long as a tweet. And this one is not the only one, brands are allowing the agencies or the in-house Social Media resource to play with the image by coming up with funny & irritating hash-tags.

It is extremely difficult to understand that renowned brands which have strict discipline on their offline communication can be so casual on their online part. Or is it that they feel that online audience is non-serious audience and they can be flexible in their approach?

Let us understand 5 Hash-tag etiquette from Marketing point of view:

Is your hash-tag a keyword or a phrase which anyone will ever search for? Looking at the above images, no one would ever search for them. They are extremely inefficient hash-tags.

Is the length of your hash-tag too long? It takes too much effort to read words without any space in them. Many people get annoyed trying to read something like #happybirthdayselenagomezweloveyou. If something like this is done by a brand, like many examples shown above, someone or the other will just go ahead and make fun or tweet about how this hash-tag is a disaster or bad use of Social Media.
Does your hash-tag or your tweets look like spams? Twitter recommends using no more than two in your tweets. You only have 140 characters to work with in the first place. Making it look like #Follow #us #to #get #attractive #prizes would never work in your favor.

Is your hash-tag too difficult to understand? If yes, then it will never interest the audience, forget the responses. How many of us can understand #UOATIMD, yes it is difficult and seems to fit a sentence but it is a movie – Once upon a Time in Mumbai Doobara. Make the hash-tags relevant for people to engage with your brand.

Is your hash-tag very common? Next time your agency brings a contest with a hash-tag you have already used in past or #ReplaceMovieNameWith, time to bring in a new agency or new SM managers. Be innovative in your approach.

If you are a Brand Manager, Social Media Manager or an Account Manager, keep in mind how people would think about your brand when they see such bad hash-tags Over exploiting them could be bad for the brand image!

07:54 No comments

Many of us watch MasterChef and for various reasons we love the show. Perhaps this is one such series that even the vegetarians across India watch. Ever wondered why? It is because more than the recipe, the contestants share the innovations possible, the new ingredients, the excitement of the time and many Management lessons.

No, we do not watch it for learning Management. Of course not, but the show comes with handful of them (in the order of how the show runs)-

1. Be prepared for new challenges – The contestants are taken to different restaurants, different cities where the culture, people and even food habits are new to them. They themselves belong to different places and are surprised every day with a new goal to achieve. It depicts a skill - accept whatever comes your way, go conquer the world.

2. Teamwork – Many fight, many throw different ideas but it is their teamwork which results in sweet fruit in the end. Most of the times, we have come across that if there is even slightest of politics or ambiguity or even disagreement, your recipe is affected. I have this amazing quote from my mother – Your mood at the time you are cooking, is directly proportional to the taste and appearance of the meal.

3. Strategizing – The contestants are told the goal of the day and then they have to think through each and every small activity from the dish they would cook, to ingredients they would require, to budgets they are allocated and how would they present. Small time is given but it has to be goal driven. Planning & then executing is the key.

4. Eye for detail & Creativity – The dishes they churn out is presented with details and an art. The way the contestants pronounce the item is as close to what is visible on the plate. It is neat. They take care of even the smallest of flavors which may cause a taste change in the dish. From hygiene to quantity to the final product, everything is a piece of their beautiful imagination. Very famous quote from Steve Jobs comes to my mind ‘Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things’.

5. Crisis Management – What happens when the dish turns out not the way he or she wanted? They have a backup plan. Or they fail and present what is on the table. Again two important things to note down here is always have a Plan B to fall upon. And if time is a constrain and you cannot execute the Plan B, present what is completed with conviction. You never know the task which you are not satisfied with, might interest somebody else. Even if failure is on the back of your mind, go with what you have.

6. Performance under pressure – Time has always been a constraint and not only for these contestants but even in our daily tasks. Pressure of successful completion, wining in your duties, peer pressure and tough competition will always be there in your job or business. But the way these chefs perform under all these limitations is a big learning for all of us.

7. Accepting criticism in positive manner – You thought it was your best shot but something happened and hell broke loose on it? These contestants go though it almost every time and one is eliminated on every show. Yet they face it with patience. They take the feedback in positive manner. If it was bad they take the judge’s fury and if it was good (at-least to them) but was not up to the mark, they still listen. Resilience is the key.

There are many other small day to day incidences which life teaches us from these shows such as budgeting, timing, prioritizing, presentation, servicing the end consumer and customer satisfaction. It depends on us how we tune ourselves after watching them.

Summary from the above Management Lessons in a Quote - ‘Life does throw lemon on all of us; we have to be opportunistic to ask for tequila and salt!’

06:38 2 comments

The common man is getting grilled. Sandwiched between the two political parties, one dived deep into corruption and irresponsibility towards the citizen while the other is drawing attention towards one religion, not being secular and showing dreamy development claims.

And then we have one economist proudly coming on TV saying ‘I don’t want Narendra Modi as PM of India’. Is this not just a statement? Has he given any kind of solution to this issue? When asked that does he favour UPA, he said my statement does not mean endorsing UPA.

Hearing him yesterday on NDTV (clipping here) was actually funny. All of us are aware of problems but what is the solution. Why is media over hyping the Rahul-Modi issue?

Being an Economist of India, he is not expected to just become the limelight with one statement. If he has been a learned entity in the past, he must either come up with an answer to the problem that what should citizens of India do or should keep himself restricted from the media.

He should have researched well before to speak that Rahul Gandhi can be alternate PM, I mean as an Indian citizen we just do not want him to lead the country for we do not feel he is responsible for such a big task. In his speech he says - “He might be an excellent alternative, but I haven't decided yet." "Do I like Rahul Gandhi? Yes...He is from my college. When I talk to him, I enjoy it.” Though he also mentioned that this is not how the people of India should vote.

Can he be targeted as pro-UPA? Or anti BJP? I being a simple Indian national would just ask one simple question ‘how does that matter whether he is favoring UPA or anti BJP. He is just one common man who is trying to influence the countrymen. That’s it!’

The summary of this blog is as diluted as his statement and higher possibility is that maximum of us would not vote this year. All of us who feel that nation is deprived of a candidate that these goon filled parties are offering would not vote. All those who are hypnotized by the work of congress would vote on their behalf. Many who believe that Modi would be able to make a good PM considering various developments and his understanding despite his wrongly targeting a particular community would go on his behalf. And as I wrote in my first line majority would as usual be ‘sandwiched and grilled’.

And the last line of this article from Business Standard is aptly written, people are getting submerged by the headlines given by the media rather than reading details about the facts.

02:55 1 comments

While it has been long that I last wrote my blog and I was waiting for real incident on the web to actually write something meaningful. There were many topics but one which affected me is actually problematic for the booming digital industry.

Ok, let me start with a question:

Click Image to enlarge

What would you do if you see this tweet on a Friday when a new Bollywood move (in this case D-Day) is released? Obviously your plan would be to read the tweet reviews, go on to other sites and then plan to watch it if they are good. Right?

And what if you click on the link to understand that there is NO review. The link content is:

Click Image to enlarge

Is this not cheating for personal benefit? Let me explain – the site sensationalized the headlines and prompted the user to click the link thus making sure to take the page views number high. These page view numbers are then taken to various brands and asking them to advertise on their portal.

What the brand was trying to do is ‘crowd-sourcing the tweets’ which is innovative but was it actually a review as mentioned in the tweet?

Click Image to enlarge

A very big question which arises here is – Should social media be regulated or regular media be checked?

Sad & bitter truth – The goal of the brand is not the quality of content but the views on the content. It is how the success metrics are defined in the campaign.

Writing very specifically of the above case, there are ‘n’ numbers of news channels with ‘n’ number of movie reviewers. The brand would want many views and interactions and Social Media agency is under tremendous pressure to bring an idea which is a Kolavari Di or viral (this is another problem). This propels the social media handlers to sometimes go overboard to spread the brand name.

Coming on to a conclusion for this problem is difficult because wrong practices are leading to success for the brands. The content if ethically monitored may undergo changes and in-turn would not ensure the so-called clicks and then result in the failure of the campaign.

But the bottom line is ‘creating thin content is bad SEO’ and it would not be able to take you too far. For individuals, it is a matter of personal freedom to write and express their feelings whether right or wrong. They may write it for themselves, for a company, incident, or even on any individual which makes a separate issue to regulate the personal space but for brands it is very important to realize the long term goals rather than bring the success in short term goals without planning & strategy. Making a viral is in the hand of customer and not in the brains of agency but creating unique, innovative and authentic content is definitely their responsibility which should be regulated as a practice.

03:38 3 comments

We watch - we criticize; we enjoy – we thrash… We continue to talk about the matches, the players, the team owners, the opening & closing ceremony every year and that is nothing but IPL fever. It is the dough mix of glamour & sports, style & spirit and money & unity.

IPL from season 1 to season 6 has enthralled the masses not only in India but also abroad. From corruption to cheerleaders, from teams to brawls, from ads to after parties almost everything is in the Newspapers, TV news and not to forget Social Networking.

Ever wondered how much does the production of a TV ad costs? And once it is created, how much does it cost to promote it? No idea, well one can make an ad anywhere from few lakhs to crores (depends on creative & technology required) and promotions on TV can be unlimited. It actually depends on brand’s spending capacity. However minimum requirement for a brand to spread its message amongst masses is in between Rs. 5cr to Rs. 10cr.

*And how much are these advertisers spending to be a part of this IPL season? It is between Rs. 4.5 lakh to Rs. 5.5 lakh for ten seconds slot. And in-case the brand is one of the main sponsors (Like Pepsi & Vodafone) then the brand is shelling out nothing less than Rs. 60cr on ads. For other sponsors like Micromax, Godrej Eon, Usha, Parle, Samsung the cost is between Rs 25cr to Rs. 30cr.

An interesting data comes from CRIC study for developing strategies for advertising during IPL:

Basis the above points, let us analyse:

For how many brands was it absolutely necessary to advertise during this season
Were they successful in creating the presence in consumer’s mind
Was the messaging right
What was required and what was not required

To build a complete case study, let us first find out the brands advertising in IPL6 – Total of 25 Brands (what I can recall and are prominent)– Pepsi, Samsung, Vodafone, Coke, Voltas, Panasonic, Rasna, Parle, Bisleri, Micromax, Godrej, Airtel, Videocon, Limca, Hero, Sony, Cleartrip, Hitachi, Usha, Cadbury, Docomo, Karbonn, Arise, Havells and Berger Paints - Now that seems BIG show & whooping money.

For a minute, can you visualize the ad for each brand? If yes, then that brand is successful in creating a space for itself in the consumer’s mind. If no, then despite spending so much money it is not helping the brand.

Now let us connect the pieces by taking individual brands with scores of GOOD, BAD & OK:

The GOODs

Pepsi – Established the message in the TVC of ‘Oh Yes Abhi’ with Bollywood actors and cricketers. The message was taken on Billboards, on-ground branding, Facebook & Twitter
Vodafone – Bringing back the ZooZoo’s in their mini avatars along with clearly defining various services of the brand. The ads were cute and liked by many.
Samsung – Ad is on launch of S4, launch of Galaxy Grand also Note 2 with a message of interest free EMI. The brand was quite successful in their advertising.
Micromax – Canvas Ad was a spoof of Can Own Now from Samsung. It was direct attack to the brand and at the same time it created a stir in consumer’s mind about the launch
Airtel – The one rupee video ad is different approach and has appealed to the masses since messaging is very appropriate and at the same time promotes the airtel’s service.
Cadbury – Amazing advertising. They are not sponsors and yet they are doing subtle advertising through ‘T20 ka Shubh Aarambh’, ‘jeet ke baat kuch meetha ho jaye’. They were the first brand to start with ads (newspaper jacket on TOI) on the opening day of IPL.
Havells Fan – Taaza hava chali – Very different ads to show ‘break the customs and unnecessary society protocols’ and a brand tag line goes along with requirement ‘Hava badlegi’.

The OKs

Pepsi atom was launched with a direct attack on Thums-Up and even the last line of the ad says aaj kuch macho karte hai. Isn’t this way too similar to Aaj kuch toofani karte hai?
Coke – The CSR route to the message ‘Happiness’ & ‘Haan main crazy hoo’ could have been better because they are the official beverage partner for one of the teams and should have taken the message with more sporty & lively ads.
Karbonn Mobiles – Launch of Tablets and advertising as Karbonn Kamaal ka Catch with side-lined advertising was a nice concept. But Ad creative used for the Launch were not that great
Hero –Though the song of Hero Splendour is very much in the minds of the audience they should have somehow carried their main song of hammein hain hero in the overall thought.
Sony – Though I remember the ad of cybershot but isn’t it too technical. Instead of promoting the camera, emphasising the technology of sensor and lens is way too heavy for consumers.
Usha – Just because the brand is the sponsor of one the teams does not mean that you have to advertise even if you do not have proper creative. Still they have managed to get eye balls on some products like Sewing machine and Irons but overall score is below average.
Tata Docomo – While one ad on corruption is good that the Docomo music plays when minister is taking money but the Pizza ad is sad. So overall brand connect with the messaging is normal and nothing innovative.

The BADs

Voltas – The AC ad with Murthy in the hot weather is too stretched, running since long and is too boring now for the audience and its repetition.
Panasonic – Bringing Katrina Kaif will not help if you do not have a strong message which can be taken more broadly on not only TV but to other mediums
Parle- Launching Gold Star biscuits and keeping Amitabh Bachchan as the ambassador. Do I remember this ad – yes? For positive or negative reasons – negative. Why? Because creative is bad, very strongly imposing the message to remember the name of biscuit again & again in the ad and not a very innovative way to cast Mr. Bacchan (This brings another debate ‘Are Brand Ambassadors successful for brands in all the scenarios?)
Godrej – Got Amir Khan for all the product ads for IPL. They could have done much more by taking the female Amir route but they became flat after two or three ads. Started with a bang and now holds no excitement.
Limca – Again the same debatable question - Are Brand Ambassadors successful for brands in all the scenarios? Bringing Kareena Kapoor does not ensure that people will remember the brand even if the ad is not good. And the route is indirect IPL promotion so why not make it more interesting.
Fruity - Does anyone understand the language used in the ad. Or what is the message the brand wants to convey? What is Shahrukh doing in this film. Need I say more?

For rest of the brands, I do not remember the content of the ad and for the same I had to Google. Two points to note here – a. They have not registered in the consumer minds and b. It might be just for me but not for everybody. So after checking their content, here is the analysis of more BAD’s:

Arise Batteries – You bring in cricketers but do not know what to do with them for your kind of Brand. Even the brand is unknown and advertising for first time, then why on expensive IPL.
ClearTrip – It ends before it starts. Actually! Goggles check, suitcase check, Perfume Check – Ad ends with the Logo.
Videocon – Launching Mobile Service and DTH, without any kickass ad, very few spots taken to promote. How would you get to consumers Mr. Dhoot?
Rasna – TG (Target Group) is not right to advertise. I mean Rasna ishas always positioned themselves for kids then why chose to advertise on IPL. They could have simply done on GECs or Kids channel.
Berger Paints - advertisement showing how effect of rain on walls can be reversed (Ulat Palat). If the brand is taking such a clutter breaking positioning, then it should throw more ads so that public can view it, register it. However neither the brand is making any effort in doing so nor does it match with the segment of IPL viewers. So, again BAD move to choose IPL as platform.

Many other brands (Asian Paints, V Guard, Sprite, Kent, Quicker etc.) are taking a step in the end to advertise so that they do not miss the bus and also that the last few days have higher visibility as per the data by TAM (TV Audience Measurement)

Summarizing the above with a very strong view point and facts – If only 7 out of 25 i.e. close to 30% of the brands are GOOD such that they have grown in the consumer minds, interacted not only through TV ads but also taken it online, mall activations and outdoor then why are the other brands splurging their monies.

Close to 30% of the brands are OK advertisers, then they need some improvement be it the creative or be it a push on media or taking the message beyond TV and for rest 40% BAD advertisers, it is time that you as a marketer sit with creative and digital agency and co-create a content which is worth the consumers.

*Source MSM (Multi Screen Media (MSM), the official broadcaster of the IPL). The image is used from CRIC study by Domor Communication Consulting and Vivaki Exchange on Marketing by brands participating in IPL.

13:48 No comments

Does Montoo deserve my Blog Post, may be Yes or May be No. Coupled with reasoning and my mind is debating - What he did was right or wrong?

So I thought let me hit the keyboard and get things sorted. To all who don’t know, Montoo was our maid at house. He was 17 when he came from a bureau to my parent’s place and he was 22 when he left back.

Young, naughty, workaholic and sincere to the job were his few qualities and like any other kid he mingled easily with the family. My father was more dependent on him than anyone else among us because Montoo would help him walk and exercise everyday considering his limitations after two surgeries.

My mother would leave the house to him at any hour. He was also a part time at my house. Both me and my husband, Rohan thought that we are comfortable with him and even he would get an extra salary to support his old father back in Assam.

He would live, eat, play with my niece like a family member and to my knowledge has never said no to any work we gave him. He used to watch TV and movies with us and was very happy. One problem, which we had seen in him, was that he used to lie, which was rare but it used to happen. Not because of his intentions but he was scared. So if the glass had broken, he would keep it back as it is and when found, he would say ‘I accidentally broke’. We always told him not to hide but I believe it was in his nature.

We unintentionally had got ourselves addicted to him. And then came the time for his visit to his home town. He was going after two and years and got the tickets (even return) from us. He has gone in past too. And since his family was very needy, he was giving them good money back home. Every-time he went, it was ensured that all his money was transferred to his father’s account.

Two months passed away, sulking with the temporary maid, may be because of the quality of the work and also because back of our mind we had no issues because it was all the matter of just two months.

In these two months, he gave us calls so many times that he misses us and that we would be facing lot problems because of his absence at work. Even we inquired about his know-how many times. He called two days before boarding the train that he is coming with one of his cousins who was looking for work.

Yesterday was the day of his arrival, and he did not come. Phone switched off, father’s phone says he is not well and is in Assam itself. May be the truth or may be not. His father was old and we understand that he must have faced his pressure of staying back. We do not blame him. All we expected was a phone call – that I would not come or I am not well and would take some time to come.

Trust is something we invested in him, to an extent that he was in our house for three months when my parents were in USA under our presence. And we are left with nothing but an expectation of one phone call that he could have made.

Ending it with the same line – I don’t know whether I am right with my judgement that maids value only money. Since he was helping his father setting a small business of selling fishes and small raw tea leaves in these two months, my judgement could be right. But if he is truly unwell or is planning to come back then probably I am wrong. But trust is broken; a call was the least he could manage and not take us for granted. Papa awaits him though we are getting back to our daily chores without him but it was an association of five years and hope of mutual requirement.

Wherever he stays, may he be happy and prospering as he was always!

02:10 2 comments

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