Philip Kotler, the erstwhile bible of marketing defines marketing as "marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others".
There was not much hope that i would remember this definition but after googling it.. i could not believe it. Really is this what i studied? This is more like my definition now "marketing is selling more to more people at a higher price" (not original, but do not remember the source or sources that enabled this clarity!) The whole world just wants to get to a better place - and marketing is the way to get them there and make money on the way.
All the product categories which really do marketing i could fit in this conundrum - anything you think does not fit? Even marketing for sponsorships for an NGO fits.. people want to feel good about being a part of a meaningful cause, of doing something for others and not being just materialistic, self focused, shallow.... and the ngo helps them do that. What do you think?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Are you as happy as you can be?
Why not?
Whats keeping you. You've got that great job, doing better than most people - non work things in life seem to be decently under control. Do you really have a reason to be unhappy or dissatisfied? Maybe you should look at your life through someone else's lens - would your parents find something amiss in your life?
If none of these answers throw up a big no - then really, why do you want to spend the time you have feeling unaccomplished, amiss rather than feeling fulfilled and happy. Forgive the rhetoric, but it is at the end of the day - a choice you make.
Whats keeping you. You've got that great job, doing better than most people - non work things in life seem to be decently under control. Do you really have a reason to be unhappy or dissatisfied? Maybe you should look at your life through someone else's lens - would your parents find something amiss in your life?
If none of these answers throw up a big no - then really, why do you want to spend the time you have feeling unaccomplished, amiss rather than feeling fulfilled and happy. Forgive the rhetoric, but it is at the end of the day - a choice you make.
Why i just totally love band baaja baraat?
Infectious .. thats the word for the film. It just grows on you like a parasite till by the end of it you can just help loving it! It worked for me because it was just so simple and straight and happy. Not intelligent, no multilayers, no complicated characters - just simple people, simple problem, no unnecessary distractions .. (we did not even the face of chetan, no unnecessary time was spent carving out their friends, family). It was different from the movies that have hit cinema recently. It was like one of the 70's films, in terms of the narrative being easy.
There is a lesson there also for the advertising thats getting created now -how about this recipe - simple, happy - no complications, but executed brilliantly - focus on delivering the story authentically - down to language,accent, tone. Not many directors would have risked the end dialogues, the confession of love to be this simple - but maneesh sharma just kept true to the character he had created. Maybe given that the starting expectations for the film were low (hardly any influential cast.. and remember the pre-buildup to the film, was hardly anything) and so the cast and crew could do their work in peace and there were not too many cooks!
There is a lesson there also for the advertising thats getting created now -how about this recipe - simple, happy - no complications, but executed brilliantly - focus on delivering the story authentically - down to language,accent, tone. Not many directors would have risked the end dialogues, the confession of love to be this simple - but maneesh sharma just kept true to the character he had created. Maybe given that the starting expectations for the film were low (hardly any influential cast.. and remember the pre-buildup to the film, was hardly anything) and so the cast and crew could do their work in peace and there were not too many cooks!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Are the B-school guys the best marketeers?
What is marketing really about? What are really the key skills needed for marketing? And here i am talking about the pure marketing - which is real mix creation - product,positioning - managing the real thing(not business development which is sometimes disguised as marketing to make people feel better).
Increasingly I feel that a good marketeer, must be creative - whilst there is a complex agency network available - advertising, public relation - actually the person who is living and breathing the brand/product does have to guide the process - and if this person did have some creative skill - it would take the game to another level.
However all the traditional core marketing companies seem to hire students from business schools with marketing degrees. How about hiring kids from places like National Institute of Design, Shrishti? Imagine the out of the box thinking, the fresh perspective, the unique point of view that a person of this background would bring.
With the media blitzkrieg, an unmanageable set of choices - its impossible to get heard, so if differentiation lies at the heart of marketing - then would not someone fundamentally creative and trained even more so- be the right choice?
PS : This view if more for consumer marketing, does not apply to b2b marketing, of which i know very little!
Increasingly I feel that a good marketeer, must be creative - whilst there is a complex agency network available - advertising, public relation - actually the person who is living and breathing the brand/product does have to guide the process - and if this person did have some creative skill - it would take the game to another level.
However all the traditional core marketing companies seem to hire students from business schools with marketing degrees. How about hiring kids from places like National Institute of Design, Shrishti? Imagine the out of the box thinking, the fresh perspective, the unique point of view that a person of this background would bring.
With the media blitzkrieg, an unmanageable set of choices - its impossible to get heard, so if differentiation lies at the heart of marketing - then would not someone fundamentally creative and trained even more so- be the right choice?
PS : This view if more for consumer marketing, does not apply to b2b marketing, of which i know very little!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Hero Honda - silent good marketing
When you think of the top ads you don't think Hero Honda - but a closer look at the reel will tell you that they have indeed being doing some very good advertising. Look at the last few ads - Splendour, Passion Pro- they have taken the advertisement of the bike product to another level. With youth at the heart of all bikes, Hero Honda intelligently cuts the positioning for each of its offerings at a psycho graphic level.
Splendour is being positioned as the friendship bike - with a a campaign that smartly marries the sentiment of the idea with the functional proposition - so jitni door yaari jaaye, utni door gaadi jaye. Splendour NXG is the flanker for the Splendour range of bikes, so as such is positioned as an affordable bike, but the beauty of the advertisement is how it takes still the mileage idea but renders it in a way that makes the bike still seem aspirational and premium. Special mention to Arun Gopallan of Storytellers who made this ad with JWT, the brands agency. Passion Pro says ab sirf style bolega aiming to appeal to the more conscious and aware consumer. Again a film by Arun Gopallan. The only thing better that Hero Honda should possibly do is integrate better with social media - given that it as youth at its heart - an inexpensive way to get participation, word of mouth and some aggressive advertised loyalty. Think Axe, which manages to get so much of its target group so closely touched thanks to its splendid non tv campaigning.
Through these ads thought- there is a silent thread that holds the brand hero honda together, whether its the signature jingles or the retro color - slightly surreal feel of the advertising. the one thing missing though - is how the corporate brand campaign is not in the same zone, style or positioning as the individual ads - dhak dhak go, india go for e.g. Part of the problem perhaps being that its brands were split across agencies - with JWT, Draft FCB Ulka and Percept managing brands. Thats should all change with Law and Kenneth now being the brands agency.
Looking forward to some more good advertising.
Splendour is being positioned as the friendship bike - with a a campaign that smartly marries the sentiment of the idea with the functional proposition - so jitni door yaari jaaye, utni door gaadi jaye. Splendour NXG is the flanker for the Splendour range of bikes, so as such is positioned as an affordable bike, but the beauty of the advertisement is how it takes still the mileage idea but renders it in a way that makes the bike still seem aspirational and premium. Special mention to Arun Gopallan of Storytellers who made this ad with JWT, the brands agency. Passion Pro says ab sirf style bolega aiming to appeal to the more conscious and aware consumer. Again a film by Arun Gopallan. The only thing better that Hero Honda should possibly do is integrate better with social media - given that it as youth at its heart - an inexpensive way to get participation, word of mouth and some aggressive advertised loyalty. Think Axe, which manages to get so much of its target group so closely touched thanks to its splendid non tv campaigning.
Through these ads thought- there is a silent thread that holds the brand hero honda together, whether its the signature jingles or the retro color - slightly surreal feel of the advertising. the one thing missing though - is how the corporate brand campaign is not in the same zone, style or positioning as the individual ads - dhak dhak go, india go for e.g. Part of the problem perhaps being that its brands were split across agencies - with JWT, Draft FCB Ulka and Percept managing brands. Thats should all change with Law and Kenneth now being the brands agency.
Looking forward to some more good advertising.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)