Bug Bytes

The bug has bitten me and how!

I am smitten. I am charmed. I am wooed.

In a continuum to my previous post" The tale of the town crier", my stance on the suave and swish of social media marketing has certainly been strengthened.

Couple of days ago, the old romantic in me was reminiscing about the ads that I grew up with, the jingles that we sang and tap danced to as little kids courtesy All India radio and Doordarshan.

Every time, the smell of jalebi wafts in the air, I am reminded of the adorable Dhara kid. I happened to put this up as my facebook status message and lo! and behold!

Everyone had a story to tell about their favourite commercial - from Vicco to cadburys to Nirma to Pan Parag. 

It was amazing really - nostalgia, reminiscence,memories were few of the catch phrases which got associated with the ads in question. And all it had taken was one message on a social networking site to start the viral effect.

In contrast, if someone were to make a pop-up or a banner, pay monies and put it up on the same site, I have my serious doubts about the no. of clicks it would really generate.

I observed a similar social effect when I had commented on the inclusion of an Indian Chef in Masterchef Australia. Unexpected sources began rapidly sharing their experiences with the show. Individuals who had never heard or watched the show on Star World expressed an interest and even asked details like the timing and airing days etc.

I wonder again if a poster or email or a telemarketing call from the makers of the show could have generated this kind of buzz around it. Top that - for free!

Traditional media is great. It has served us well and will continue to do so. But, technology has given us social media marketing which if used effectively and wisely can create a spiralling viral effect using the best possible modus operandi. That of the human touch. Virtually.

The tale of the town crier 2.0

We often hear people saying what can be marketed, what cannot, what should and what shouldn't.

Little do they realise that each one of us here is a brand. We possess attributes, identity, nomenclature, personality, strengths, weakness, associations, competitors etc.

We have our quirks and our super qualities. We are an entity in ourselves. Each one of us is endowed inherently with a USP that we can call our own.

We have families that we are extensions of pretty much like an umbrella brand shielding us in its glory.

Our product category is "human race". We strive so hard to study, work, learn, process, progress and prosper. We set goals and timeframes so that someday the world shall know us. We shall be powerful brand names to reckon with. Famous lineages... branding, right?

Think about it, the Bhagvad Geeta, the Holy Bible, the Holy Quran, the Old Testament each one is a brand key in itself.

Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism each one is a brand name.

Temples, Churches, Mosques, Synagogues each one is a a source for locating the right TG for the brands mentioned.

The swastik, the cross, the crescent moon, the star each is a brand logo unit.

Bhajans, masses, namaz, readings each one is a tool for word of mouth advertising for brand building.

Anything and everything is a brand. We can't barricade and decide what can and cannot be marketed.

Any brand worth its salt has been publicised, promoted in some form or the other. Rewards, recognitions, accolades are the ultimate means of establishing certain brands.

Today, we have boutique outfits of PR and Celebrity Managers who have sprung from the realisation of the importance of the "human brand".

The most commonly used one more often than not is simply word of mouth. The friendly neighbourhood mom and pop store to the prestigious school in the locale area to the famous music teacher they are all examples of brand building through positive word of mouth.

Personally, Social Media Marketing is the apt space to be in today's age and times. It's free. It's fresh. It's flying. It is a brilliant concoction of the written word, credibility of the brand ambassador (the individual penning down stuff here!) and mass appeal to the right audience.

What a superb mechanism to reach the right people, spread the word, gain insightful feedback often real time and maintain a transparent open dialogue.

It gets the brand closer to its users and forms a more direct connect, more credible and sustainable than say a print, TVC or even direct marketing.

And the best part is that it is devoid of financial costs and merely involves a good old human dialogue with the interface of state of art modern technology.

The bottomline being - so long as mankind survives, so will the town crier in each one of us evolving and manifesting the old fashioned way albeit with an uber twist!

Where art thou?

We have witnessed the steady disappearance of some our most loved characters.

These were personalities we resonated with. They struck a chord deep within and bonded like old pals did.

We loved them and we hated them. Sometimes we wanted to hi fi and low fi them, give them a bear hug and at other times shrug our shoulders nonchalantly when we didn't quite agree to their points of view.

Love them or hate them , we thought we couldn't do without them. We thought they would hang around with us forever. We never really imagined a life without them.

But, we were forced too. And it hurt. Worldover marketeers and advertisers strived hard to create long lasting characters that would probably outlive generations and the brand itself.But, we in India had decided the time had come to pull out the plug and get done with the so called fuddy duddy personas once and for all.

Remember when the little boy in shorts with a can of paint and an unruly tuft of hair got brushed away. Yes, Asian Paint's Gattu has left many a heart broken.

Then, came the time for the roly poly jolly good fellow in red exuding warmth and Indian hospitality to bid adieu. We couldn't contain our emotions when he disappeared into the clear blue skies never to be seen again. Air India's Maharaja was the king of good times indeed.

He made us envious. He made us proud. He brought out a little possessiveness, a tinge of craziness and a fierce sense of competitiveness. He was the suave cocky guy who made us swoon with his shiny bald plate, lopsided wicked grin and evil talons. His banishment into the dark dark nights is something we have not quite recovered from.  Onida's devil was the ultimate in uber cool.

I love the little Amul girl for being around and entertaining us with her witty observations and smart Alec comments. Her smooth words cut ice with all of us. Literally.

Mascots can connect in a way like nothing else does. No brand ambassador or real brand personalities can ever replace them. Creating them perhaps is not such a tough thing to do. But maintaining them most certainly calls for a lot of patience and hard work. Thats what is cutting edge ultimately.

Here's appealing to all marketeers and advertisers out there to bring back our mascots. There couldn't be a better persona to epitomise everything that your brand stands for. Hail Mascots!

The sojourn begins...

Not too long ago...there was a dearth of good advertising...

Slowly and steadily things began to change.

Recently we have witnessed some outstanding and 'memorable' ads which deserve top of mind recall.

There seems to have been a creative burst and superb ones at that...

A good piece of advertising creative makes me really happy...

My current favourites being the "We are the Blackberry Boys" in TVC...encapsulates the aspirations of the TG bang on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxjCw3SdmR4

Outstanding digital innovation by Volkswagen...it was a perfect marriage of audio+print...picking up the paper yesterday with a live ad in my hands made my day! Though I must admit that the costs involved would have funded 3 excellent TVCs and activation programmes as well. Yet, since the brand is in its first stages of establishing connect, I guess its disruptive and clutter breaking!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOw-SWlL2ZE

Social Media Marketing used superbly by Hippo to track inventory through twitter! Future of marketing is most certainly social media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt8zT26DOGo

As an ardent marketing fan, I have to admit that  these brought back the little miss sunshine in the dark field of great ideas...