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