Agencies are to blame. Really?

"Fragmentation of media, the mainstream movement of the Internet and the mobile revolution are redrawing the contours of communication and agencies will have to understand and align themselves for a role within the emerging space."

"The first step is accountability. Clients want results and agencies will have to figure out a way to deliver them."

"However, all response-led advertising will be driven by the Internet and mobile simply because these media offer a fabulous opportunity to micro-target and deliver advertising, to a precisely defined audience and track results. In addition, it will help develop a feedback mechanism that helps to improve offline targeting as well."

"We also believe that agencies will have to share in the risks of the business like their clients do. They will need to evolve pay-for-performance models, which we already offer, to prove that they mean what they say and performance measured in terms of actual sales, not just intentions. It’s going to be a rough, hard ride."

More repetitive writing about the chronic blame game at: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2007/11/15/stories/2007111550090300.htm

What I am contesting, specifically, here is them saying "If ad agencies have diminished in stature, their shrugging off responsibility of the clients’ business and embracing escape routes is to blame."

From the time I started looking at advertising as an interesting industry to work in I have read identical articles in several newspapers, magazines, online forums and so many places. It now just seems like a fashionable opinion to have. Everyone just wants to be on the goody side of the mess, no surprise.

But what's even more ironic, the writer of the one article in question belongs to an agency providing brand services.

Internet/ Mobile
Coming to my points of view... I agree to the fact that several marketers are turning to marketing using mobiles and internet. Yes, of course the message is delivered to the individual you want to talk to and you also know exactly how he responds to you. Measuring is easy. Point taken.

But, do you remember getting a message on your cell phone once asking you if you want to stop receiving sales calls on your mobile. All you had to do was send out a Do Not Disturb message. Several marketers from banking and retail opened their eyes to see that many people they called prospects were in fact not. It did save them from making a negative impact on the consumers, in turn stopped bad mouthing that they could have faced.

TVC still strong
TV ad volumes this year are up by 33 percent. More channels are blossoming, proving that TV is increasingly being consumed. If not increased consumption it indicates that audience has more variety of channels to choose from. The content we have is not extra ordinary in any channel, the channels at the end of the day only form a part of a category, and the audience for a category can be easily guaged. Reach is thus still getting measured.

Going back to the claim of TVCs not being the biggest things. Then why is it that once in every month some Biggy from the advertising world is called upon to write a half page article about himself and comment on a set of ten tvcs.

I think the Indica V2 ad is funny and remember it but I just dont like the way the car looks. Hence, wont buy. Period. TVCs, according to me, still are a good way to inform.

Whose idea?
Simply coming down to the most important reason why agencies are not even close to being as responsible for the performance of the brand as the clients or unaware writers like our man here want them to be... How many client - agency relationships exist where the client lets the agency make some decisions on their own and buy it? How many clients today allow their agecny in upon all the research data they have about their brand to understand exactly what needs to be done?

If the TVCs are made, it is because the clients start talks with mainline agencies only after they've made up their minds about airing one. The agency cannot and wont ever say, "sorry what you really need is just PR."

Every client wants to direct more than half of the creatives. The size of the logo, haha! That makes me laugh. Brand managers come and go. Everyone wants what they want. Isnt it? And how do you expect proportional returns for your expenditure when you fish out perks from this and take an indoor TVC shoot overseas and use international models for no logical reason except a good holiday for biwi aur bachhe.

The client always has the final call. They are the ones who 'approve'. So why are the agencies held responsible after all that drama? Make the agency the approver on certain aspects, give them a larger role, let's see why they would want to not take responsibility for brand performance.

If the talk is about questions and accountability... then why can't the agency ask some? Should we now have a standardised process for the agencies to double check the truthfulness of the clients' claims? Why not a process check on the manufaturing, just to confirm if the fridge is really going to take care of the nutrients in our food. Or if your employees really treat the customers with care and if the client does deliver loans in 2 days flat...

Who is going to answer these questions for the agencies? Who is to blame?

Let's add a little perspective...
if clients are paying agencies to lie...
People will know its a lie, thats how good the communication is...
there... now... how's that for accountability???

- Deepika

Graduates have become more demanding

14 Nov, 2007, 0119 hrs IST, TNN
www.economictimes.com

The strength of the economy means recent times have been good for marketers, and they can be choosy about where they work. Employers, meanwhile, are being forced to get smarter at attracting and keeping talent. This year’s pay survey by Croner Reward for the Chartered Institute of Marketing shows that marketers’ pay is holding up well, with increases averaging just over 3% in 12 months.

A third of marketers now receive a bonus equivalent to 10% of their salary. Some employers that dropped bonuses are bringing them back, and companies are paying more attention to motivators such as flexible working arrangements, training and development programmes.

“Job-seekers can hold out for what is right for them,” says Nicola Clark, director of marketing and communications at Investors in People. This is challenging for employers, who concur that graduates have become more demanding. “Before you can ask them what they bring to the company, they are already quizzing you about what the firm can do for them,” says Jonathan Harman, president EMEA of Carlson Marketing. Younger marketers — those in their 20s and early 30s — in particular appear to feel they have real bargaining power. “If what they want is not on offer, they look elsewhere,” says Katherine Turvey, consultant at recruitment agency SG Group.

Interestingly, Turvey says money is not the priority for most candidates. A marketing graduate joining an agency tends to be offered a starting salary of about £18,000 a year, compared with £28,000 for graduates entering financial services, she says. Marketers at professional firms face an even wider salary gap, receiving as little as a quarter of what lawyers and accountants are paid. A higher priority is flexible working. In a recent survey by recruitment agency Blue Skies, 51% of respondents said this was of vital importance, compared with 39% who cited high salary.

“Creative people hate being chained to desks — they would rather be treated as grown-ups, and not have to keep strict hours, as long as they get the job done,” says Blue Skies director Anita Baglee. Harman says Carlson Marketing tries to accommodate employees’ needs within reason. Some candidates want to work a four-day week, while others admit they plan to stay for only two years because they want to travel. “People value their time more than they used to, especially those with families,” he explains. “If you want the best talent, you need to be as flexible as you can. I’d rather have someone right for the job working four days a week than not at all.”

Flexibility can be applied to financial benefits. Bigger companies might offer an annual bonus of £3,000-£4,000 a year and let staff choose additional perks such as a personal assistant, or a bicycle to travel to work. While such practices may give some companies the edge, they play a relatively small role in motivating marketers after they have got their feet under the desk, according to employers — what really counts is the company’s culture and values, and the opportunity to work in a challenging and creative environment.

“Recruitment agencies are always asking me about what benefits we offer, and I tell them they’re the same as before,” says Mike Colling, managing director of Mike Colling & Company. “It’s less about schemes than about a philosophy that puts the individual first.” Recruiters say employers should take into account marketers’ desire for training and development — a benefit that’s the first to be given the axe when cutbacks are necessary.

For Tullo Marshall Warren client services director Chris Freeland, it is the day-to-day work of an agency that provides motivation. “It can be soul-destroying working with clients that don’t ‘fit’, so we are very careful about choosing brands,” he says. “That helps keep people motivated. Also, candidates at interview consistently say they don’t want to spend time doing the same thing.” Employers are going the extra mile to attract and keep the right people, and although marketers’ salaries may pale in comparison with other industries, their benefits are plentiful, with particular attention paid to work-life balance.

- Deepika

No Marks Cream XYZ Brand (1st Place)

Creative Director-Copy: Harprabhjot Singh
Medium : Television
Product : No Marks Cream XYZ Brand

Idea 1
Scene 1:Bosses Office (Cabin)2 people Boss & EmployeeBoss yelling at employee regardin business. later tells him to take his wife out for shopping. Employee while nodding his head says "yes sir".

Scene 2:Morning in office lobby same employee running to catch the elevator. Just manges to enter the elevator at the last moment. He is late for work. On entering starts fixing collar of shirt. Notices a hicky on his neck. On seeing the hicky he has a grin on his face. Lookin satisfied from last night with the bosses wife. He takes out the no marks cream from his jacket pocket and applies it to the hicky.

Scene 3:Inside Bosses cabin. Door opens the employee walks in(shot in such a way as showing the area where ther was an hicky earlier, which is no longer there) and says "you asked for me sir". Boss replies and asks "Did u take my wife". employee looks at the boss and with a very subtle grin on his face, replies "yes sir, I took her"

Scene 4: product shot

Idea 2
Scene 1:2 Family's Boy's and girl's sitting together in the drawing room. boys and girls parents discussing if the boy and girl like each other(wedding), having tea and sharing jokes laughs. Girl's mother says to daughter "why dont you show rahul your room". Boy and girl look at each other with shyness, give a small smile and start walking towards the room.

Scene 2:Girl and boy enter the room and the girl locks the door behind her as she enters. As soon as the door has been locked both look at each other and give a naughty smile and have a chemistry sparking.

Scene 3:Both are now standing infront of a huge mirror in the girls room and getting dressed, when the boy notices a hicky on his neck, he panicks. Girl holds his arm reassuringly with a naughty smile and hands him the No marks cream. Boy applies the cream.

Scene 4:Boy and girl walking back into the drawing room, sit down with their respective family opposite each other. Girls mother says loudly while looking at her daughter"Is ther chemistry". Girl & boy look at each other with a smirk on their faces and simultaneously say "Yes"

USE CONDOMS (2nd Place)

Creative Director: Varun Panjvani
Copy: Yash Virkud
Art: NA
Media: TVC

The scene starts with a young man entering his house. As soon as he enters he starts shouting at an old man who is drinking his tea. The young professional is complaining about the old man’s various habits. A few seconds later his newly wedded wife walks in she too starts yelling at the old man.
The camera then focuses on the old man who has a pensive look on his face. Then the copy appears just below his face…“Use Condoms”

End illiteracy (3rd Place)

Creative Director - Copy - Art: Devika Srivastava
Media: Print

[Please click on the image to view large version]

Criminal offense

Creative Director - Copy -Art- Yash

Media: Print

[Please click on the image to view large version]

Cast your vote

Creative Director - Copy -Art- Pratik Biyani
Media: Print

[please click to view large version]

Radiocity Campaign

Creative Director: Alpesh Kandoi
Copy: Alpesh, Prajakta, Bhavya, Dasmeet, Kinjal and Saraswati
Art: Alpesh Kandoi

[please click on image to view larger version]

VIP

Creative Director - Copy - Art: Alpesh Kandoi
Media: Print

[please click on image to view large version]

Lowe

Creative Director: Vinay Pawaskar & Tejas Dangre

Copy: Vinay Pawaskar

Art: Tejas Dangre

[please click on the image for large version]

iPod

Creative Director: Dev Tyagi

Copy: Deepak Aswani

Art: Prajay Shah

[please click on the image to view large version]

Apple iPod

Creative Director - Copy - Art: Prajay Shah
Media: Print

[Please click on the image to view large version]

Stop the spreading

Creative director - Copy - Art: Deepika Nagabhushan
Media: Print [in tech magazines]

[Please click on the image to view large version]

1929-2009

Creative Director: Sarang Shahani
Copy: Sarang Shahani
Art: Sarang Shahani, Yash Virkud
Special Mention: Pratik Biyani
Media: TVC (Teaser)

Please click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y89JpkQlr0

1929-2009 (Part 2)

Creative director - Copy - Art: Yash Virkud
Media: TVC

Please click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbNLxq-MNqE

TiVo

Creative Director - Copy - Art: Deepika Nagabhushan
Media: Print

[Please click on the image to view large version]

Nurse at age 9

Creative Director: Deepika Nagabhushan
Copy: Yash Virkud
Art: Yash Virkud
Media: Internet

Please visit the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqkgnpUMz0M

Skull and Cross Bones

Citizens of India have a fundamental right to freedom. The freedom to choose. Choose a religion or anything. Choose to eat or not. Drink or not. Why is smoking so different? We all know it kills. Why dont we then put a board on all roadside food stalls that unhygeinic food can cause Malaria and Cholera and paste pictures of people in hospitals? Even kids eat from roadside stalls. What about butter. If you have so much butter and cheese, your cholestorol can nearly kill.


But this country will spend money on pasting dirty pictures on cigarette packaging. A picture that carries a message that everyone already knows. Cigarettes kill. Why spend so much of money on some team to come up with this idea, then hold press conferences and just spend on something that may not even make the slightest of a difference to the smokers. There are so many NGOs working on grassroot level problems like how children do not go to school and as a result of which do not understand the value of good health and hygiene. Spend the money there. Its crazy sometimes how certain things that a country does are so insignificant. One might feel that they are done just to get the health ministry some visibility.


What do you think? Does this move actually display an act of responsibility on part of the Government of India, reinforcing that regulation can save this country from its race to grave? Or is it a waste?

Want to read the Hindustan Times article about the same? Click...
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=3a115c5b-7d2c-44d2-a44f-78ba7d81bcb8&&Headline=Cigarette+packs+to+carry+skull+and+crossbones

- Deepika

Great Taste has its Benefits - Coke Plus

In March, Coca-Cola launched its Diet Coke Plus™ which they call a sparkling, calorie-free beverage with vitamins and minerals. In addition to providing great, refreshing taste, Diet Coke Plus supposedly is a good source of vitamins B3, B6, and B12, and the minerals zinc and magnesium. The Coca-Cola company claims to have the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries and a rate exceeding 1.4 billion servings each day. Phew!

Doesnt 'Healthy Soft Drinks' sound a bit oxymoronic? But that could be just one side of Coca Cola's move into a new hybrid called Diet Coke Plus.

It could be a good thing that a Brand like this one is moving with the times where the public at large is shifting their morning coffee off the schedule and replacing it with morning walks and gym sessions. It's age of Healthy living.

However, if Coca Cola wanted to sound like a health conscious brand, they could have added some other product to their portfolio. Why mix things up. Coke is for Soda-sippers, who care about taste and not really nutrition. If they were healthy people they would not be picking up Cola for sure. You'd find them at the Fresh Fruit Juice stall next to their Gym!

What do you think fellow branding/ marketing people!?

-Deepika

Employer Brand Value - agree or disagree?

There are many questions running inside my head right now. A lot of turbulence I must say. This happens very often, and some people who know me must not even expect a big thought to come along halfway down this article… but to me, what I want to write about is important and I need a lot of clarifications. Maybe you can help!

I have been reading about ‘a management thing’ called Employer Brand Value and have been attempting to come up with my understanding of this whole concept! The more I read about it the more I realized how much of a victim I was of stuff that marketers do to your brain. Ok… simply put, Employment Branding is basically selling the experience of working in a certain company. Do not mistake the brand value of the product they sell for the Employment brand they carry. The two can be linked, but not equated.

Now for handling the mental turbulence: The two big questions that I want to ask here are, firstly, whose job is it? An advertising agency or the CEO [who does not care too much for an HR person and that’s why many boards do not care to have Human Resource representation] Or is it the HR department’s responsibility to work on Employment Brand Value?

And, does it stop at targeting people within… hiring and retain, is that it?

With regard to the second question, one thing I don’t understand is why these ‘management gurus’ who sit and make these theories which managements all over the whole wide world use as a lean-on! Half the objectives they are aimed at are unreal. How can you have books of theories telling someone how to maintain Employer Brand Value so that your employee does not leave? In the modern-day scenario very few people stick around in one organization. Most people want to experience different industries and organizations. In my opinion, employment branding exercises should impact even people who leave… the ‘strategy’ must work even after an employee leaves the organization. What this guy will carry is a word-of-mouthable idea, like Sumit Roy of Univbrands might call it! Of course, the branding that has been done should really reflect the way things are. Also, not every one leaves with a bitter after taste.

I have so many instances, few from my personal life, where I see that the whole point of Employer Brand Value is lost because of the wrong approach these management writers have taken. If you want to understand my idea better, just think of it like how your parents [you’ll know if you’re from India esp a madhwa from Bengalooru!] brand their family and kids. Think of how children are branded because of the family they come from. Think of how the branding exercise starts and ends with someone outside the family buying into the brand concept, it’s certainly not to invite people into the family.

I am not saying this should be the only objective, but one that’s kept in mind throughout.

People who leave… need not always be employees. Interns are smart enough to spread the word around especially when they have wicked content for that scrap on Orkut! Employers need to revise the list of target audience they have in mind, I personally think.

And as for the first question I asked: I think it involves every person in the organization! Not just the CEO or the HR department or an ad agency to make fancy posters and suggest reward programs. The idea should trickle down from the top management to the last employee there is. The HR should make people friendly policies and see them through to implementation - affecting every person. The agency can only help in making things more catchy and memorable or louder.
How do you think McKinsey is so strong on 'we have the best talent' tag? And, Google on 'young people with creative freedom and expression'!?

Unless a culture is internalized and is manifested in the way people are made to work, Employment Brand Value as a concept will only remain an overrated, management-book-selling gimmick. Thank you!

- Deepika

30 Short Stories

The fresh aroma of hot jalebis and pakodas was the first thing that struck me when I got outta the Dadar station with a huge guy aka Abhimanyu. And the second thing that struck me was Vinay Pawaskar ka stud looks. And then many things went for a notification. Smita aur Riddhi ke beech mein pyar (man both were fighting to unload their luggage from the taxi), Alpesh ka nerdy look, Sumit ka sab ke saath interaction (man's always in action), Natasha ka checking out men, Lakshmi ka getting outta her luxurious car. Gursimran ka entry with his guitar along came Zeeshan with his squash racket. Somewhere i saw an aged man, was around 27 then, i guess, i thought he was from Lowe, but later i learnt that he was our classmate, Neville De Souza. And the rest went for a toss, cos then i could notice me feeling weird (din know any of the 29 unknown faces). Seeing everyone gather around Swaminarayan Temple, my eyes were only hunting for Deepti Mehta. She was then the course coordinator for Northpoint. It was she who was to take us to Khandala, to our dearly loved institute.

Now that we were on-board, the bus choked black hot vapor containing fine particles of carbon (surely must have, all the buses in India choke that way). And the journey to Northpoint started. Oh by the way, we left in two different buses, so we split into two groups. Thus, my chances of knowing others was down to 50.

I still remember how Vidhi Mehta and Gursimran were trying to entertain the crowd. I was least interested, hardly knew them then. There was this guy sitting next to me and Abhimanyu. Said he wanted to make a film someday. He was then talking to me about movies. Abhijeet. Was nice knowing him. He was equally dis-interested, guess he was feeling the same. The guy was calm, composed and excited. All of us were. He would'nt let you feel weird. I was comfortable by then. We reached Northpoint, now we were in one group. 29 people, with different ideas. 29 different thoughts. Suppose to be 30 right, well Dasmeet missed the orientation, mate was unwell then.

The orientation got over, we got introduced to Mr.Prem Mehta, Mr. S.V.Siva, Mr.Rajeshwar Upadhyay and Deepti Mehta, got our id's and we were off to Country Side. The lovely motel where we were put up.

Deepti allotted rooms to us. Again we were split in two groups. The girls were parked in the main building and the guys were placed in some khandar (they say all spooky events happen in such kinda place). It was getting dusky, i was sitting in the garden with Deepti, what we saw was a lean guy, like me, dragging a heavy suitcase, right from the entry of the motel. It was Dasmeet, one of my roomies (this word was coined by the girls).

MAY 22, 2005 was the day when this unforgettable event took place in our lives. And here we are, tow years thence, a long journey we have traversed and nothing to regret about. Nothing to forget. No memories to dispose. We have learnt only to cherish the 730 days of blissfulness.

Amit Bisani

P.S: For the rest 29 short stories, get in touch with the other 29 PGPAMC'ists.

Reminiscing the Rural Stint

The Rural Marketing sessions at Northpoint brought to light new perspectives. Right from the start, the fact that rural India brings with it the task to address around 700 million potential customers; add to that the diversity of our nation- it all seemed very challenging. It exposed us to new forms of reaching out to this audience which made the learning both exciting & interesting at the same time.

Today the Rural consumer is as discerning as his Urban counterpart. Through the theory sessions we learnt that with the explosion of print & electronic media in the villages, continuing education & the general all-round economic growth there has been tremendous growth in villages. Consequently, all this has led to an increase in literacy levels; also a shift in purchase decisions taking place has been observed. The present day rural woman is not restricted to household chores or the four walls of the house, today she is in the market place making choices of textiles & provisions and not just that; she is also driving choices. Through initiatives like the project Shakti of HLL, few women become ‘dealers’/ ‘distributors’ of HLL products. Thus benefiting the company by sales & the woman generates income while simultaneously becoming self reliant.

Having uncovered these insightful lessons, I set out for the rural stint to Jaipur. There our task was to study the banking habits of the villagers and to come up with ways by which a popular bank could increase the footfalls in that region.

However during the field trip we unearthed a rather bleak state of affairs in most of the villages around Jaipur. Here the farmers still relied on petty money-lenders or their family for loans. They were averse to the banking habit due to the formalities of the system. They mentioned high interest rates, the need to mortgage the land, the requirement of a guarantor & a limited pay-back period as some of the reasons why they perceived banking unfavorably.

However what works for them is the presence of Co-Operative schemes such as the Gramin Sahakari Samiti. One farmer described it as, “Kisano ki banayi gayi, Kisano ke liye.” Under this scheme a group of farmers would come together & pool in money. This would then be used up by the farmers depending upon the needs. This was also perceived favorably as it enabled them to not only purchase seeds & fertilizers; but also to store them.

At the end of the field trip we realized that there was a huge need for a change in the mindset required. The rural folk needed to know about the banking facilities. We needed to communicate to them about the different Bank schemes & benefits that they could avail of & so we devised strategies accordingly about how this could be brought about.

And finally, looking back at the rural stint, I can definitely say that it has been one of the most thought provoking & enriching learning experiences at Northpoint.


So here’s cheers to the hinterland……..Rural Marketing is here to stay!!!!


Stephanie

Learnings LinPersonal

I would like to share my learning that I had at LinPersonal

The topic that I would like to talk about is Customer Relationship Management and few other terms that are related with the topic.
Let me start with a very fundamental definition of CRM.

“It’s the evolving practice of understanding customer behavior and reacting to it in order to maximize profitability”.

One of the important points to understand under CRM is Lifetime Customer Value
There are two ways to calculate it.
Absolute – Difficult to calculate
Relative – Easy to calculate

Customer behavior changes over time and these changes are clues to the future. These changes over time are referred as the customer life cycle.

We should also look at RFM Model if we talk about CRM

RFM Model – Recency, Frequency, Monetary
RFM is directly proportional to Life Time Value.

Customers are labeled as best or worst then mails are sent to both. Then their responses are compared. Cut back mail to worst and spend more on best customers.

Also we try to optimize -
Optimize - spend more to increase response rate from the customers while cut down costs on discounts.

Another thing that should be considered is
Customer Retention
Hold on to most valuable customers
Make less valuable customers more valuable

Customer loyalty programs are very important

Data is a very important part of marketing

Data Driven Marketing
1 Allocating marketing resources
2 Customer behavior is more effective than just demographics
3 Make customers feel good about their decisions
4 Actions ------- Reaction ------ Feedback ------ Repeat

Data speaks

Hurdle Rate – The percentage of customers demonstrating a certain level of the behavior being profiled.

Marketing programs comes from one basic concept – tracking, understanding, and profiting from the customer lifecycle.

ROI – It’s the amount of money spent divided by the net profit generated over a defined length of time.

Simple CRM

Measure – evaluates current customer retention situation
Manage – implements customer retention marketing and training program.
Maximize – creates a feedback loop for continuous employee learning.

CRM can generate increased profitability
Reducing costs
Increasing customer value

Kavita

Rural stint at Varanasi: A Reality Check

12 people, 3 agendas and one place. At the start of our Rural Module, the whole thought itself sounded impossible. We were a bunch of ignorant students who though Rural India was just about poor people in mud huts with land and no resources. Then we had the very enlightening rural theory sessions where we unlearnt most of our beliefs and learnt the truth. We learnt that though part of the rural India is about mud huts and poverty, but its also about people like this guy we met in our stint who had 2 tractors, 12 bighas of land, a DVD player, LG color TV, 4 two wheelers a sprawling bungalow. Another point to note was that such an individual wasn’t a rare exception as we might imagine.

Now let me take u through some parts of our journey and the nuggets of truth that hit us like bolts of lightening from time to time.

Our group of 12 completely different people went to Varanasi for our internship. Three of us out of that had been given the task of studying MARUTI OMNI as our brand. Imagine our state when we realize that the car itself is not known by its brand name but as MARUTI VAN. This was only one of the first surprises out of many more that came our way in the 8 days that we spent there.

Our modus operandi was to first understand the system of sales there through meetings with the dealers and then chart out a route to cover the given areas. The first interesting detail we learnt was that the sales of cars in villages actually had a unique pattern. Most of the sales happen around festivals like NAVRATRI and DHANTERAS and so do the related promotional activities

Another very interesting learning was that people don’t like taking loans. They like to pay in hard cash for most of the things, even for big things like a car. Their ideology is that” WE take pride in buying everything on cash and not on Karja". But slowly and steadily they are also getting educated about safe loans and EMI’s.

One of the most interesting nugget that we learnt was that if one sees the geographical map of Varanasi, it shows that the city is divided in two half’s by the Ganges. We noticed the crops cultivated on the upper side of the Ganges were wheat, rice, sugarcane. And the other side of the river there was wheat, maize, flowers (Marigold) and tomatoes.

After probing further we came to know that it’s because of the land and the magic of river Ganges. The farmers on upper side of the Ganges have to wait a little more for the harvest and can’t harvest more than 2-3 cultivations at one time, whereas the farmers staying on other side of the Ganges could have 3-4 cultivations and could harvest earlier.

Another bolt of lightening was that don’t always depend on logic because logically anybody conclude that that the farmers who can have 3-4 harvests will be earning more money. But it’s not true as we learnt from the dealers that sales of a high involvement product like cars were more in the areas above the Ganges.

We probed further as this failure of our brilliant logical minds wasn’t that easily acceptable to us (pun intended) and we learnt that though their harvest is only twice but due to the scale of farming as well as the price fluctuations in the available neighboring markets for rice, they were earning more money.

This piece of information was really very important for all of us when we had to devise our strategy. And so my key learning’s from this stint is that we can sit in AC offices and make strategies but it’s the ground reality that has to be considered. A scrutiny at the grass root level has to be done. Then and then only you will be sure that it would work out.

And to emphasize this point of our ignorance about the true picture of Rural India and extent of opportunity available there, I would like to leave u with a fact that “there are 6, 34,000 villages in India.”

Sandesh

When Bosses are Two?

My very first observation during the IMAG stint was that every division does everything for the brand they handle. Right from the ideation to the execution and till the post evaluation, all divisions do all of this. The most exciting division to work in was Healthcare.

The task we got in this division was stimulating for the mind and very interesting to work on. This entire project was about checking out the feasibility of opening an institute which will train nurses and help them in going abroad and hooking them with a hospital abroad. Not only we needed to surf the internet a lot but we had an added task of reporting to two bosses. Dr. Menda and Dr. Shukla were the two mentors that we were reporting to at one time.

Dr. Menda is a practicing doctor as opposed to Dr. Shukla and hence the difference in expectations and perspectives. Every time we took the project a step forward, approval was needed from both of them. The toughest part was to handle differences in opinions. In a real work scenario if this is the situation, it will be ones ability to convince both bosses to their own point of view.

It takes a lot of patience and an open mind to take in two pieces of information that are opposites. It also gets important not to put down any one of them in front of another. Somehow I feel a session on conflict management can really help us perform better in similar situations.

I feel that I have completed my week long stint with Healthcare successfully since our team was able to bring both our bosses to the same platform. Definitely it took a lot effort and a lot of hard work to keep both the mentors satisfied. But, at the end of it, it is us who are satisfied and our work gets due approval.

Tanya

Lasting Impressions

People and Places – two things that I can say I have always been passionate about. This was reason enough for me to be excited about the rural stint that I have recently come back from. Add to that an interesting twist in the form of exploring villages and rural areas with an objective, and you get the perfect recipe for fun, memorable experiences and eye-opening learning.

I’d like to be honest and confess that I was apprehensive when we got a project on banking for the rural stint. It seemed like a tough nut to crack, and it indeed was as we learnt over a period of 8 days. But it was challenging to do, and provided for ample learning and experience in the end. On that account alone I think I’ve accomplished the objective of the stint.

Banking, even for an educated, sophisticated city-dweller is sometimes difficult to understand with its jargon and the many complexities that surround it. Therefore, banking for an illiterate, simple farmer in faraway Neendar or Morija had to be tough to comprehend. Having stayed in the southern part of the country for the better part of my life, I was aware of the development that had taken place in the rural parts of the area. I had left for Jaipur thinking that the same must have happened in other rural parts of the country, even if it wasn’t to such an extent as in the south.

Imagine my surprise and shock when we met 3 families of 6 adults and 9 children, living in huts made of mud and straw and whose combined monthly income was a meager Rs.1500 – or Rs.100 per person per month. What could I ask these people? Should I have asked them the name of the bank they went to? Or what kind of loan they took? However, these people did take loans - to buy food to feed themselves and their children. And then we met farmers who owned land that could have been the size of a small village itself. The difference between the haves and have-nots, rich and poor, couldn’t have been starker.

That family, the children, standing outside their home talking to us, telling us things that we had only heard of and never really believed, is the one lasting image I have come back with.

Gaurav

Sweet Child of Nine

There are certain things you like and there are certain things you don’t like. Sometimes you end up confusing fear with dislike. It must have happened to you as well. One fine day, Sharad Varshney, Head Strategic Planning at Linterland, a dashing personality, came to ‘Discuss’ at Northpoint and showed me the difference.

Linterland is the Rural Marketing division of Lintas IMAG. It was the last division at IMAG that we interned at and we did rural cconsumer research. The whole concept attracted all my attention the moment Sharad conducted a mock research interview in typical rural circumstances.

I had never been as scared as I was that very moment when I went up there. Suddenly, making sentences was so difficult. My grammar went for a toss! Fear I sensed, which translated into dislike in my head. Another problem was, the way our questions got framed, they attracted answers that were leading us away from our main objective. Our approach had to be different – it’s not for nothing that the terms Urban and Rural were created. But the consolation came sooner than I had thought; a few others faced the problem I had. Then we were taught a little secret. Now this secret is something that helped me gain courage to go into little villages and come back with all the answers I needed to. That's when I knew this would become my favourite stint here at IMAG, just after getting over my fear!

If you want to know the secret, read the title of this article again. Decipher the four words.




I have been visiting villages ever since my childhood, but never had to interact with people of different ages and have to ask them absurd questions such as ‘how do they brush their teeth’…! This time we had an objective. What I found was to talking to the younger generation helped make in-roads into the family from there. Turns out I was just scared of talking to people I was culturally different from; not that I disliked it.

To quote Mukesh, a smart teenager at Neendar gaon near Jaipur. “…Yeh bacche choti umr se hi sab samajhte hain. Inhe sab practical hi sikhaya jaata hai. Agar yeh koi istahar dekhte hai to inhe pata lag jaata hain kitna sach hai aur kitna exaggeration hai...” Pretty insightful huh! I thought so too.

Several times to understand the habits of a household or few households put together, speaking to a kid [9 – 15 yrs] would be enough. In other cases, the kid with his genuine intentions to help, would take us to the right person in his family, who in turn would give us all the information we needed.

The confidence that I gained as my teammates and I spoke to the child helped me to ease myself out. Confidence ultimately helped me in asking our questions in a logical flow and receive the right perspective! Smooth.

No wonder, all the quotes that I remember even a week after the trip to the villages were from kids!

Deepika

Roll No.30 Hands On Experienced…

DM was from the first day itself was about basic learning. I was teamed up with Pratik for the DM stint. Within LinPersonal there were various individuals working on separate products and categories Insurance ,Credit Cards , Retail etc. These executives need to be updated not just about their product but also the category. However a day only has 24 hours. Therefore we were asked to come up with an effective solution to obtain relevant information for these client servicing executives. The solution should not take up a lot of place, need not be cost effective and should be self-sustainable.

We were asked to come up with ideas on the first day itself. When we presented these ideas on the first day itself they weren’t completely rejected. But I was informed by our mentor that we missed a couple of points (self-sustainable, not take up space).
We then went back to the drawing board. At the last day of the DM stint we presented on same topic. This time our mentor thought the ideas were more applicable...

Something similar happened when I moved on to Lintas Healthcare. We were given creative brief for a painkiller. The differentiator for this painkiller was that it was cool on the stomach.The first round of ideas that I bounced off to Cherojit were rejected. Not just rejected but also criticized. Now there was a deadline given to us 6:30 pm.It was already 5:55 pm. This time around when I sat for concept development I thought to myself “Keep it simple”. Finally I went back with just one idea. The simple idea got accepted. I then was witness to the entire process.

1. Client Servicing Briefs the creative(Copy and Art).
2. The creative is then rolled out.
3. CS then has a look the work. Suggest changes if felt necessary.
4. Once the CS approves it he mails it to the client.
5. Client approves and thanks the agency : )

Note: This process is what happened in this particular instance. Process may vary according to situation

Learning: From these two instances I learnt the first idea might not be the right idea. Just incase be prepared for the rejection.
I learnt red might mean love to me and you but to a Doctor it might mean red blood corpuscles. When you are sending a creative for a VAF (visual aid folder) or DM mailer your interpretation may certainly be different from the TGs interpretation.

Yash

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." - Confucius

The world of Integrated Marketing Communications was like a revelation to all 31 of us. After having received our theory module at Northpoint that covered fundamentals of Direct Marketing, Public Relations, Event Management, Entertainment Marketing, Outdoor Advertising and Designing and Packaging, we were all looking forward to the IMAG Stint with Lintas. We wanted to put to practice the principles we had learnt.

We started off with Lintertainment (Entertainment Marketing Division) as our first unit. With the strong connect that Bollywood films have with the masses, many brands are chalking out various strategies which will help them create a direct way in which to promote themselves using films. This we realized when we worked on a sequence that would seamlessly integrate a rice band in one of the scenes of an upcoming Bollywood release. Similarly, apart from In-film placement, we were also exposed to Multiplex Activation which was another medium that was used for a banking brand. Here it was interesting to note the slew of options available in a theatre (not to mention the price one has to pay for the same…..) right from popcorn branding, ticket jacket branding, seat branding to kiosks; and just when you thought it was over- say hello to toilet branding too!!!

We had to meet up with the promotions managers of various multiplexes like PVR, Adlabs, Inox etc; go through their rate cards and then optimize our plan on the basis of the budget.

On working at Lintertainment we understood how the business works- at what stage and how are producers approached. We realized how it is mutually beneficial and symbiotic for Brands and Producers (Films) to associate with each other.

After this stint, we were with Advent (Event Management Division). Here we worked on the launch of a very premium international watch brand. This project was very interesting. The team had devised a plan to launch this watch at a suitable Heritage site (in keeping with the brand values, lineage etc) so we were then involved in recommending heritage sites in Mumbai. We had to call up various clubs, hotels and art galleries and also visit them to check on bookings and logistics. This was the fun part; as we had to bear in mind the various elements of the event and check if the site would be conducive enough for the launch. Here simultaneously we researched other watch brands that were competitors.

Our next task involved analyzing the consumer feedback forms of Tilda, a popular rice brand that Advent had received. We had to compare Tilda with other brands like Dawaat, Kohinoor, Lal Quilla, etc across parameters like Taste, Aroma, Cleanliness, Price and Offers.

LinOpinion (Public Relations Division) was yet another great experience. This division was buzzing with activity. Firstly, we worked on the media and consumer audits for a leading international clothing brand. We had to receive inputs from consumers on this brand, the line, price points, accessibility etc. Similarly we had to collect views from journalists who covered the fashion beat. This information would help us to gauge current perceptions about the brand & help to evolve suitable strategies for the PR plan.

Some of us also had to make follow up calls for an event at the Taj. Here we had to receive participation confirmations from journalists & photographers who would cover the event.
We had the opportunity to be present for another event that was held at Atria Mall. Here we were responsible for Media registration and the interaction with media.

An important service provided to clients at LinOp is that of Daily News Tracking; consequently we had to scan newspapers like TOI, HT, DNA, Mumbai Mirror, Mid Day, Asian Age etc. for articles on some of the clients & their respective competitors.

At LinOpinion we had a comprehensive understanding of the different functions of PR and how they can be efficiently executed. Here we realized that maintaining good Media Relations is of primary importance.

So far having completed these projects across the various divisions of the IMAG, we really better understand and can relate more to the concepts discussed earlier in class. Being on the job brings new perspectives to our thinking and our perception of how the different facets of each business come into play. Integrating each form of communication into a more meaningful WHOLE for the consumer.

Indeed, Confucius was right………….. I did and I understood!

Stephanie

The Hardest Part

Wanna know what we experienced at Lintas IMAG for two whole months while you emptied recycle bins??

READ for God's sake... READ!

We got a whole new section for your convenience [now, aren't we considerate!]. Click on the tab IMAG Learnings.

5 is to 350

Sometimes when you travel you come across knowledge which you cant wait to come back and share…thanks to the Sony Cybershot 7.2 megapixel digital camera with a Carl Zesis lens we were able to capture this knowledge.

We were in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) for our Rural Marketing Stint. When we met village heads around Vijayawada we came across an interesting trend in these villages. We have made a two minute mini-documentary on the same.

Have a look let us know what you think. Click on the link below to see 5 is to 350

Team C , Vijayawada: Sriya , Vibha and Yash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aADQJaCaetI

Future Shock!

The neuralcast of my morning dream was interrupted by a digitally simulated hand gently shaking my mind into consciousness. The time flashed before my eyes, with a wake up message from some brand of cereal that I never seemed to buy. It was 7am sharp and the day was Sunday. The year was 2071AD. I cursorily glanced at the nocturnal neuralcast update revealing the three dreams I had chosen to experience that night. And there were tell tale signs on my anatomy as to what they were. At the bottom of the sheet, there were the top ten rated dreams across the world with a note on the entailed costs and sponsorship rates. Not to mention separate charges for those dreaded ‘innovations’ wherein brands popped in seamlessly (in a manner that you couldn’t screen them) into your dreams. The world of brands, the world of entertainment, the real world and the subconscious one were converging in a manner that meant business, lots of it to be precise.

I asked the automated house valet (aptly called Jeeves) for some breakfast. My requests were greeted by a myriad range of choices popping up, from astronaut food to a Swahili concoction that, though you should have had a death wish to consume it, promised everlasting fresh breath (explaining the unprecedented proliferation of that tribe). However, since I was feeling rather circumspect that morning, I stuck with my old routine, quickly subduing the incessant brands still trying to peddle their wares (last micro second switchers) by blinking my eyes authoritatively at them.The bathing ritual had Jeeves showcasing some of the most high end status symbol products in the galaxy. Since ‘natural’ was increasingly rare, there was a huge premium and aspiration associated with it. From rose petals growing at the base of the Angel Falls, for bath fragrance, to puffed dust from one of the lost moons of Saturn that promised your skin a healthy, ‘unearthly’ glow, Jeeves ran through the entire list. Since there were no pack purchases, one could change loyalty by just paying for the quantity consumed on an hourly, minutely or secondly basis depending on your hygiene fixation. Brand loyalty was facing the same future as an electromagnetic wave with the temerity to think it could survive in a black hole.

Thus refreshed and socially compliant, I sat down to enjoy some virtual vision – VV. This lifestyle gadget had relegated television to the Jurassic era; it directly connected to the viewer’s brain using invisible sensors and teleported him live to the programmes being telecast. My attention finally zeroed in, after walking through some seven million options, on the live telecast of the first manned voyage to the Xylus Andromeda galaxy (XAG) that was some number, followed by an outrageous number of zeroes, light years away. I magically materialised on the deck to thunderous worldwide adulation, a feature that was in built into all these programmes to make virtual viewers feel ‘special’. I shook hands with all the star trekkers. There had been a previous resolution passed to address all such people as ‘space cadets’, but it was withdrawn after clinical research revealed the detrimental effects on the morale of the people involved.

The captain of the crew was a strikingly beautiful black woman with an IQ that resembled the measured height of Mount Everest in metres. There were other vitals available on her ‘check out’ display, but being the gentlemanly sort, I shall desist from delving any further into these. She read through my profile and smiled back in a kindly manner.“I wish I was smarter,” I said to myself and instantly five million kinds of brain power enhancing concoctions appeared on my screen. I blinked my eyes instantly to dismiss them. “Yeah, and while you are it, why don’t you do something about my shape?” I remarked and instantly cursed as a host of fitness programmes, pills, gadgets and instructors appeared. Rejecting the first three, I dwelt on some female instructors when a message appeared. “Should we be charging you for any of these?” I immediately blinked that statement away, my mood angered by the fact that some of my secret preferences had now been picked up by UNISEL.

UNISEL was a very advanced computing system, touted as the single greatest marketing invention of all time. It was a cosmic consciousness, created to sense the needs of consumers through spoken words and other intuitive judgements, like eyes lingering on objects. Marketers paid literally with their souls (valued on the ethics exchange) to get displayed on this system. It strode the galactic economy like a colossus. Some said it was the economy. There were rumours being furtively whispered that it was being upgraded to actually sense the thoughts, feelings and desires of people. Maybe in time even influence them. Rebel factions were appearing across the world in revolt, as this was a question of ‘free will’, something mankind had always risen to protect.At lift-off, my mind, heart, stomach and any parts I could put together at such a time began to churn. Once we were safely beyond the clinging possessiveness of gravity, we all eased up. There were cheers on the successful launch and a million beverages instantly appeared before our eyes. We took our picks (or packs) and ‘eye washed’ the others away. The captain was clearly pleased with the way her crew, especially the unwanted ad hoc, VV driven additions, had performed. She smiled an irrepressible, effervescent pearly white one at us and I urgently felt the primal and rank suicidal urge of fancying my chances with a beautiful, intelligent woman in power (strangely, not enough effort was ever spent in trying to quell this urge, though it was widely regarded as having started most of the ancient wars). I whispered under my breath, “I need some great pick up lines” and then cursed myself for having forgotten that the captain had access to everyone’s control systems. She glanced at her display screen and smiled. Then something happened that made her face lose all colour.I looked down at my screen and saw that a rebel virus had entered the mother control system of the spacecraft. We were tottering like we were being hit by asteroids.

“The presence of UNISEL is always at its most concentrated around space events because of their high profile nature, translating into increased potential for marketing activity. Conversely, it is also in its most emaciated state here, due to the sheer load of marketing transactions generated by this event.” She bit her lip in determination and punched a few keys to combat the invasion of the mother system, but it seemed hopeless. “The rebels knew that their whole philosophy is around the protection of free will, which they believe UNISEL desecrates. But anyone accessing dating spheres is exercising free will, even if it is the free will to get embarrassed as in your case, and this enables them to send their virus on board to infiltrate UNISEL. Didn’t you read the mandatory clauses before you came on board?” she asked furiously, as the trekkers began fulfilling their last requests courtesy UNISEL. There were things ranging from ‘kick your boss where it really hurts’ to ‘a meal so tasty and unhealthy, it might as well be your last one’ programmes that were still being executed gamely by UNISEL for the trekkers

“Are we going to die?” I asked her, feeling a tad guilty about the whole thing, but she, like all other women of that time, chose to ignore what I had to say, concentrating intently on the job at hand.“Would you like to go in for life insurance?” the words flashed before my eyes, followed by an analysis of over three million schemes that would best suit my needs. I reached forward to sign on one of them (randomly, of course, I wasn’t really in the frame of mind to evaluate).

And then my whole world went 100 per cent black.

Vinay Kanchan
(The writer is vice-president, Rediffusion DY&R. He is also the patron saint of Juhu Beach United, a football club that celebrates the ‘unfit, out of breath media professional of today’)

Unforgettable Northpoint

Northpoint has brought us memories enough to cherish and jubilate. A small art piece to express the unsaid. A time to recollect those beautiful memories. PGPAMC i miss you all.

Amit Bisani

Dark side of the Muse!

A sedan, a cola, a movie, a clothing store and a fast food chain... What could these possibly have in common! The answer is one that glaringly hits the eye every single day. Kids in Ads. Yes each of these has kids in the ads. It doesn't seem to matter to advertisers when they harness the pester power to their own ends that it could do untold harm. Any ad with a kid sells. It’s industry gospel now. It is hard pressed to surf the idiot box for two minutes without seeing some kid in an ad. Never mind if it’s even an ad for switches. Irrelevance to the product is simply not considered a barrier. And we are so used it, that we wouldn't be surprised on seeing a pre-pubescent kid in a condom ad!

But little thought goes in the fallout of this on the kids themselves. Among the admiration, there are various accusations of abuse and neglect directed at kids in ads face. Simply because of their age, they are vulnerable to exploitation. Even when they don't recognise it as such. A recent incident on the sets of the Sushmita Sen starer 'Bhoot' illustrates. Children, the unmined fuel of our society, are perhaps most vulnerable to their 'near and dear' ones.

A bird feeds its young. A tigress hunts for her cubs. Parents take care of the children. A natural order of things in our society. But today we see kids looking at acting in ads, serials and movies as a profession. And it is not just any other profession. It is one that by its nature requires kids to adopt the role, mindset and mannerisms of another person. When this affects grown, stable people, how it affect kids who have not yet realised their full potential and personality? Is it not reasonable to suppose that the 'cool, hip, brats' that they portray on the silver screen impact their own behaviour and thoughts. What identity and behaviour problems would a kid playing a totally opposite role face? And that is apart from the peer pressure and image problems that kids today are beset with. If seeing Shaktiman on TV can make a kid jump off the terrace, how much worse can playing a super hero affect a kid.

And then there is the stark role reversal that occurs as kids become the CWEs of a Household. Innocuous enough term. But its implications are immense. Kids are supposed to be cared for. Not given the responsibility of fending for others and themselves. The impact of having, at very young ages, such responsibilities thrust on them would stunt their natural growth. Self confidence, esteem and image come in question when they see such potrayals.

Also, these portrayals by kids set the tone, language and mindset for other kids. These kids set the template for their social interactions and behavior. It is disconcerting to see them take for real the exaggeration of a copywriter for a brand.

Poornima...

In 2007...

Branding Predictions
"Many consumer segments have become numb to messages that smack of traditional advertising. Marketers and branders will need to understand how to integrate their brands into this type of experience, building entertainment and viral value in more grassroots approaches surrounding less overt sales messaging."Josh Kelly, PrincipalFINE Design Group

"We will see more product placement in films, TV, and on the bodies/lips of celebrities as advertisers scramble to find alternative ways to influence consumers in this fast-forward-through-ads, TiVo generation.

"Celebrities are 'influencers,' which is why brands will be dishing out more bucks to get celebrities to wear, drink, eat, and be photographed with their product brand. We will also see a rise in 'experiential' advertising, marketing, and public relations as brands try alternative ways to reach consumers."Rita Tateel, President

"[I] predict 2007 will be a year in which companies will break away from traditional forms of marketing and advertising to promote their brand and venture into the technology-driven world of mobile advertising (iPods, mp3 players, cellphones) and the Internet. Although print, TV, and radio still will play a crucial role in a company's brand, much of the younger population will experience new brands in the form of modern technology.

"For example, if Crate & Barrel were to partner with Sprint, you will be walking down the street, and as you pass a Crate & Barrel store, your phone's Sprint GPS will recognize your location and send you an electronic coupon for Crate & Barrel." Dave Seidler, DesignerBaer Design Group

"Traditional advertising strategies have fallen short of reaching the goal of engaging consumers, due to continued fragmentation of the media landscape and a major shift in the consumer mindset. Consumers have become far too skeptical of branded messages. In 2007, I see marketers dialing up the use of sponsorship platforms to engage their target consumers through the things they love and the way they live. Tapping into their passions—via entertainment, sports, or cultural platforms—will allow consumers to experience the brand on their own terms."Tony Signore, CEOAlan Taylor Communications

The Inundated Consumer
"I believe that brands in 2007 will begin to experience an increasingly hostile resistance to the relentless invasion of privacy that marketers are unleashing on their unsuspecting audiences. I'm not talking about 'privacy' as in identity theft; I'm talking about privacy as in the need to live through a solitary moment when we're not battered with unwanted commercial messaging. There's a limit to the unsolicited marketing messages that audiences can handle, and we're going to see that limit come into plain sight, beginning in 2007."Lynn UpshawPrincipal, Upshaw Consulting Member, Marketing Faculty, Haas School of Business, UC-Berkeley

"Consumers are presented with ever more choice and ever more information. It's a mistake to assume the same rules of loyalty apply anymore. It's also a mistake to assume old-fashioned concepts surrounding brand and product lifecycles. Brands need to be very attuned to their customer relationships and not be afraid to evolve and reinvent."Josh Kelly, PrincipalFINE Design

"Advertising budgets will continue to be slashed because credibility and trust are not built with advertising like they were in the past. Today's customers, investors, and other key audiences are more skeptical than ever before."Mike Paul, President and Senior CounselorMGP & Associates PR

"It is no longer enough for consumers to believe that brands are sincere in their communications; that has become cost of entry. To succeed in 2007, brand communications must not only be transparent, but offer some additional value before the audience will even tune in." Hayes Roth, Chief Marketing OfficerLandor Associates

Power to the People

"Gen X-ers need independence and interdependence in products and services. In the time-pressed, faceless world, they seek to be heard. America Idol and YouTube are brands that provide opportunities for these consumers to be heard.
Shelley Rosen, CEO Airlift Ideas

"From MySpace to blogs to message boards, consumers are now listening to the voice of fellow consumers more than that of the marketer. Forty-four percent of the US online population publishes their thoughts and experiences they have with brands every day, positive or negative.
"With that said, the trend for brands is, and will be, complete accountability—period. The brands that walk the walk with their promise, and become an active part in the customer conversation, will flourish. The brands that don't will suffer."Roy De Young, Brand StrategistTemel Inc.

"Smart brands will learn to empower the consumer. Today's consumers know that they hold most of the power in their relationships with brands. Be it by sharing relevant learning with consumers, creating environments that foster customer communities, or offering relevant product or service benefits that improve people's lives, the brands that not only engage but also empower will be the brands that break away from the competition this year."Hayes Roth, Chief Marketing Officer Landor Associates

Design Redefined
"Design economy is about the convergence of value and design. Today's consumer is demanding both in their product offering. Brands like Target, Apple, and JetBlue intimately understand what the customer deserves both with their service and product offering." Shelley Rosen, CEO Airlift Ideas

"One interesting shift in how we develop the visual piece of the brand is how important digital presence is now. It, in many cases, is driving what we [design]. This means more color, more transparent overlapping. The old adage about how will it look in the Wall Street Journal is just that: old."Jeffrey Marcus, PrincipalMarcus Associates

"We have been tempted for some time to issue our staff black turtlenecks outfitted with pocket protectors. Increasingly, branding and design considerations are overlapping with technological ones and there is more than ever a need for this improbable pairing of analytical and creative minds. It could be argued that at some point in the future, branding will be more a function of technological savvy than design sensibility."
Josh Kelly, Principal FINE Design Group

A Brave New (Entertaining) World
"Avatars are becoming more popular in marketing. Recently, stars like Ludacris and corporate mascots such as Tony the Tiger of Kellogg's have been utilized as a form of brand promotion. Much like a pop-up window, a singer such as Ludacris will appear on your desktop and walk you through various tasks on your computer (shopping, web browsing, etc.). He even will sing and dance based on voice-activated or keystroke commands. For many, this makes the online experience much more user-friendly and simple. It also provides entertainment and brand strength."Dave Seidler, DesignerBaer Design Group

"The sports industry is booming like never before. A multi-billion dollar global business on the cutting-edge of entertainment, new media technology, and marketing synergies, the sports industry will continue to boom. However, amid the prosperity, the consumer of sport—the fan—has never been harder to reach…. To date, fantasy sports have changed the way major sports are viewed. A multi-billion dollar industry [in its own right], it has yet to be fully embraced by blue-chip marketers…. I expect that to change as the industry continues to grow by leaps and bounds, not to mention the prime demographic [comprising] influencers."
John Meindl, President/CEOSports Branded Media Inc.

Some Things Don't Change
"I believe we will see more and more brand extensions over the coming years. An example of this would be World Gym creating its own line of energy drinks. (This is strictly a hypothetical example.) While World Gym does not have a core competency in energy drinks or nutritional supplements, it could leverage its brand as experts in the physical fitness industry to create relevance and credibility for extending the brand into other niche markets. As companies with established brands gain more awareness in the marketplace, the brands become a commodity that can be used to leverage new products into new markets with a reduced amount of risk and a reduced barrier to entry."David P. Smith, PresidentEnvision Creative Group

"Brand identity is more important in 2007 than ever before for small and midsized companies, which need to establish some recognition before they go out and try to sell their unknown products and services. Integrated marketing communications and brand consistency across functions and divisions are imperative."Todd Baer, Creative DirectorBaer Design Group

Think Good and Green
"As we look to the future of branding, my thoughts have moved toward inspiring and guiding our clients to create new ideas, products, and experiences that make our world a better place. The tipping point of 'green thinking' has arrived and more and more people will search for ways to participate or choose brands that are actively making a difference. I believe—and I am optimistic—that we are moving toward something new: an era of new opportunity."
John Creson, Executive Creative DirectorAddis Creson

"Sustainability will be a theme that resonates with consumers as it becomes better understood; and it will be a focus for companies looking to do well, while doing good."Peter Dixon, Creative Director, Retail Design PracticeLippincott Mercer

"More and more celebrities are supporting environmental causes and 'going green' with emphasis on supporting alternative energy sources…. Cause-related marketing and PR will continue to rise among brands as an effective tool to 'achieve success by doing good.' Socially conscious baby boomers—who are now in the decision-making roles in corporate America—are driving this trend, as are consumers who are much more likely to buy products from companies they perceive as socially responsible and supportive of causes."Rita Tateel, PresidentThe Celebrity Source

The Corporate Landscape
"[Worldwide,] 2006 saw some of the most heightened activity in mergers and acquisitions, across all sectors of the healthcare industry. As pharma and biotech converge to form potential powerhouses of the future, companies are going to have to look hard and fast at the role of the corporate brand as never before.

"Recent levels of attrition in both pipelines and the rate of new drug approvals coupled with some substantial patent expiries looming on the horizon, will continue to challenge the way in which companies approach both the development and management of their product brands. The watchword for the industry in 2007 will be how to make brands work smarter."
Rebecca Robins, Global Marketing DirectorInterbrand Wood Healthcare

"[In Europe] I predict a shift from companies focusing on building their brand experiences to building their customer experiences. With good clothes you notice how good the clothes look, with great clothes you notice how great the person looks: so [it goes] with great brands—customers shouldn't notice the branding, but the great experience."David Hensley, Senior PartnerLippincott Mercer London

"[In Eastern Europe] there is a certain surge of the demand of branding jobs, mainly in the product branding and packaging areas. The shelf has been rather dull until now, and the EU accession brings also a tide of better-designed Western products, which put the local brands at a disadvantage in front of the consumer. Rapid change of consumer lifestyles is another factor to accelerate this trend."Aneta Bogdan, Managing PartnerBrandient

"[In Asia,] even as media gets fragmented with more customer touch-points than ever, the importance of brand building cannot be overstated. To a large extent, the customer still buys with his heart rather than his head, and so it's imperative that clients and advertising agencies continue to project the right brand image for a product or service by investing in brand building."Suresh Kumar, Creative Group HeadGosh Advertising Pte Ltd Singapore

"[In the US,] corporate fraud, misdeeds, and lies will continue to be major problems for global and national corporate brands. Most corporations are still not walking the talk to become more honest, transparent, accountable, humble, and consistent to build long-term excellent reputations. As a result, a growing trend with corporation brands continues to be corporations with reputations in crisis.

"Ironically, fraud and corruption in the corporate world is so bad that simply doing the right thing has become a major differentiator." Mike Paul, President and Senior CounselorMGP & Associates PR

Siva

Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Work like Hell and Advertise

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Northpoint, the centre of ‘unlearning’. “Unlearn!!” we were told - unlearn all the rigid mathematical rights and wrongs of life. 1 and 1 is not just 2 anymore, it could be an eleven. (The mathematical part of me begs to differ)

It’s been an interesting ride. I’ve met people I’m sure I would never have met in my life through this course and now, work. It’s been early mornings, seven day class room sessions, and a lot of adjustments, a lot of growing up and a whole lot of learning! It’s been a defining process.

Advertising: The field for dreamers. The neurotic, coffee drinking, music loving, nocturnal dwelling, money grabbing, gibberish spouting ‘unlearners’.

Aaah it’s good to be home fellow dreamers!

Northpoint pushes your limits, coaxes you to step out from your comfort zone and grow, and challenges you to be better than you are.

I think the purpose of Northpoint is best described by this:
"Das Beste oder Nichts" meaning "the best or nothing”
-Mercedes Benz logo

Rashmi

To Northpoint, with Love!

How do you think you can learn to play Cricket?

There are 2 ways, one is you read a book on cricket and the other is you actually get on to the field and play cricket.
In the same way there are 2 ways of learning, one is where you read theory from books, never mind that theory hardly ever applies to practical life and the other where you learn by doing things. And that's what Northpoint stands for, 'Learning by Doing'.
And obviously since Northpoint is associated with Lintas India, one of the best in the industry.... it definitely has to be a great experience.

So, this is how my journey at Northpoint started.

On May 27th ’05, I entered the gates of Northpoint for the first time. A sense of pride filled up in me when I saw the spectacular architecture. For a few seconds I stood awestruck wondering if this was my institution or one of the luxury hotels by Taj. But the feeling subsided as time passed by and we were introduced to our course.

PGPAMC Batch One

All the 30 of us looked at each other with inhibitions & eagerness, but for a new bonding.
The enthusiasm, excitement, anxiety, doubts, the so called 1st impressions gave their way off once all of us introduced ourselves to each other.
After acquainting ourselves with everyone it took us good 4 hours to explore the massive architecture which had 2 blocks; executive & the students block. Obviously, the students block was the place where we had to spend the forthcoming days.

My Northpoint has everything which no other institution would ever have.
The lobby where we watched TV, the gym where the boys build muscles & the girls toned their body, the squash court where we had our matches, the tennis court, the swimming pool & Jacuzzi, the gardens, ‘Gossip’ where we filled our tummies with the delicacies, ‘Discuss’ where we got involved in small discussions with the lecturers & 'Discover' where we tried to discover the ways we could learn more & more, the library where we got almost all the bookish Gyaan we could ask for, the admin block where we charged our laptops & surfed net.

We were fortunate enough to have been taught by all the biggies in the industry. People who have seen advertising, felt advertising & done advertising, came all the way to Northpoint to share with us everything they could. No jargons, no books... only live case studies is what we came across.

The 360 degree communication, the ATL & BTL activities were words unheard to me, but when I finished my course I crossed the finish line of advertising. Only because Northpoint is a part of Lintas, we were exposed to Lintas IMAG i.e. Integrated Marketing Action Group. In the 2 months of our IMAG stint, we got an opportunity to experience outdoor, rural, in film, healthcare advertising, the event management bit, the designing bit & public relations. I mean which other course would actually allow you to work with an agency of a stature as big as Lintas. But, honestly the amount I learnt there is phenomenal. No other course or no other institute could make a course as interesting as PGPAMC.

And now let me introduce to you Countryside Inn, our home in Lonavala. The beautiful inn which is located in the isolated parts of Lonavala, an 8 km drive from Northpoint.
The nice, clean rooms, the small pool, the garden, the swings, the shade, the different kinds of experimental cuisines, the morning breakfast, the late night projects, celebrating birthdays at midnight by throwing people in the pool, celebrating every small festival with the whole gang. It was fun to live there.

Today when I sit & think, I realize that these 18 months have passed like 18 minutes. Every day, every minute & every single second whether we sulked or laughed, it taught us new things. But as they say that life moves on, I also moved ahead & today I am placed as a copywriter in Linterland, the rural marketing wing of Lintas IMAG.

If Northpoint wouldn't have been there, I wouldn't have been where I am today.

Apeksha ‘appy’

The day they Flicked their Hats

On January 13th 2007 Northpoint proudly gave its graduating students from the courses Post Graduate Program in Media Management

and Post Graduate Program Advertising and Marketing Communication

a day to remember...

It was the day when 45 students flicked their hats into the air and laughed while the camera went click…click…click continuously to capture every moment of this special day.

The founder of Northpoint Mr. Prem Mehta, Chairman Lintas India was there to see the first products of the institute graduate. Mr. Ashish Bhasin, Director, Lintas IMAG, Mr. Pranesh Misra, COO Lowe were there to inspire the young professionals of the advertising and media industry. Dr. A.S. Ganguly, who previously headed HLL, was our chief guest who spoke to all the students, motivated them about industry in India.

All proud parents and juniors [that’s us… who hosted this occasion and made the graduating batch feel extremely special… :D] were there to clap as loud as they could as rows of stars in black robes marched down to the staging area to receive their degrees in classic wooden frames.

Students from these two batches have been placed within various Lintas wings and other big names! There’s Group M, TAM, Carat Media and Mudra.

As juniors we are happy that our seniors found their spaces in the world outside of the academic world. Only we hope that we find our calling as well and get a graduation party as nice as the one we gave them!!!

We have a lot more photographs of the ceremony, keep watching this space for more.

Deepika.