There are a few moments in life that are definitive. My life seems to revolve around cricket and advertising. A few defining moments in my life? It was 7.36 p.m. on 4th June, 1993. I was sitting in the bar stool of the Bangalore Club watching the Old Trafford Ashes test on TV. And Warne bowled Gatting with a ball that turned two feet and clipped the off bail. I was watching the ball that would soon be dubbed the “ball of the century”. I just yelled in amazement. I rudely woke up the oldest member who was quietly dozing in his favourite stool who must have wondered at the falling standards of behaviour of new club members. (Another sobering moment as the spin wizard announces retirement just now). England in 1999. Herschelle Gibbs drops Steve Waugh and the World Cup. To me watching from the stands, it was another defining moment. 2003, South Africa, and the World Cup final. Zaheer Khan’s first over cost 15 runs and cost India the cup. Another defining moment. The 23rd of November, 2006. It is 5.30 a.m. and Steve Harmison came into tremendous applause to deliver the first ball of the most anticipated series in recent times – the Ashes. I am right there in front of the TV. He started with a huge wide to second slip which started England’s slide to a 3-0 Ashes defeat (at the time of writing). Another defining moment. All these moments had the capacity to move and shake me and made a profound impression on me and made me believe that I was seeing something unique, different and unforgettable. Did I have one such moment in advertising in 2006? The answer is a quick if a somewhat sad “no”. 2006 was one of those years. One of those commercials that you see and yet don’t notice. One of those ships that pass you by in the night.
The business of advertising
“Advertising” somebody said “is the business of producing ads and TV commercials”. And the business of advertising by all accounts has been good, whether your agency is ranked No.1, No.8 or No.30. A whole host of categories have discovered the power of advertising. The automotive industry is booming and as a consequence the advertising spends. Never mind the fact that every car ad reminds you of some other car ad that you have seen before. The roads are clogged with two wheelers and the networks jammed with two wheeler ads, each of which tries desperately to be like its competition. Mobile services it seems has lost its pre-occupation with tariff plans. Thank God for small mercies! And in the same breath we must thank clients and agencies for continuing campaigns in the mobile space. The ‘pug’ dog continues to charm us magically! From dogs to monkey. Idea Cellular’s tune of an Ilayaraja hit has a monkey running helter- skelter but the network follows. One of the few nice ads I saw this year. If mobile services are heavy spenders, can mobile phones be far behind? One saw a lot of advertising that was hip for mobile phones. And yet to me the stand out was Motorola’s ad for MotoFlip W220, which features a young boy being grilled by his parents for having what they believe is a horrendously expensive phone. What a brilliant way of saying that the sleek phone costs only Rs.3990! FMCG continues to alternate between brand building and price cutting. Lots of advertising, not too much worthy of recall. And yet I must recall the Surf Excel commercial in Tamil with a foreign kid eating with great relish with his “hands” watched by his horrified parents. And a reassuring old lady who says that in India, we not only eat with our hands but wash with our hands as well. Banks continue to provide mediocre service but the advertising has improved dramatically. SBI stopped being “Surprisingly” diffident but had an interesting range of commercials. HSBC had some different advertising as had Bank of India. We all live in hope and one day the service of banks will match the advertising! Education (thoroughly fragmented) has still become a large consumer of space. IIPM continues to release ads that are in your face. I don’t wish to comment on how bad they are as I thankfully am not applying to management school and am therefore not the target audience. Mutual funds is another category that has advertised heavily. HDFC Standard Life Insurance had a very insightful ad for pension plans. The retail boom is yet to result in brand building advertising which seems to be still obsessed with “sales and price-offs”. Someone has to start building retail brands harnessing advertising.
Some trends
The ad industry has announced its “unbundling” of services with great fanfare. Today agencies offer specialised services and I guess this in turn makes the client’s job more challenging. He has to be strong (and if one may add enormously patient) to deal with the creative agency, the stand-alone media agency, the PR agency, the MR agency, the events agency and the sales promotion agency. Is the client man or superman, only time will tell! And yet I think there is an increasing disconnect between creative agencies and media agencies and clients are feeling the pinch. Today agencies are a lot more focused on the bottom line. And the direct reaction is declining salaries at entry levels and increasing disenchantment at the middle level. The advertising industry is growing – but where are the people? Which bright young kid in his right senses would like to join us?
The year in perspective
I remember seeing a commercial for RIKK Bank that reminds me of Indian advertising in 2006 “The most boring bank in the world” was the descriptor. “The people are working. The money is working and that’s all”. Yes people are working in advertising and agencies are making money. But we need to introspect. If we don’t get the right people, we just won’t make any money. Let 2007 be the year of talent. And may it be the year where India’s defining moment could be winning the Cricket World Cup! At least it would make it worth my while to travel all the way to Barbados!
The author is Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO of Brand-comm.
Feedback can be mailed to sridhar@brand-comm.com
Thursday, December 28, 2006
2006 – Hardly a defining year
There are a few moments in life that are definitive. My life seems to revolve around cricket and advertising. A few defining moments in my life? It was 7.36 p.m. on 4th June, 1993. I was sitting in the bar stool of the Bangalore Club watching the Old Trafford Ashes test on TV. And Warne bowled Gatting with a ball that turned two feet and clipped the off bail. I was watching the ball that would soon be dubbed the “ball of the century”. I just yelled in amazement. I rudely woke up the oldest member who was quietly dozing in his favourite stool who must have wondered at the falling standards of behaviour of new club members. (Another sobering moment as the spin wizard announces retirement just now). England in 1999. Herschelle Gibbs drops Steve Waugh and the World Cup. To me watching from the stands, it was another defining moment. 2003, South Africa, and the World Cup final. Zaheer Khan’s first over cost 15 runs and cost India the cup. Another defining moment. The 23rd of November, 2006. It is 5.30 a.m. and Steve Harmison came into tremendous applause to deliver the first ball of the most anticipated series in recent times – the Ashes. I am right there in front of the TV. He started with a huge wide to second slip which started England’s slide to a 3-0 Ashes defeat (at the time of writing). Another defining moment. All these moments had the capacity to move and shake me and made a profound impression on me and made me believe that I was seeing something unique, different and unforgettable. Did I have one such moment in advertising in 2006? The answer is a quick if a somewhat sad “no”. 2006 was one of those years. One of those commercials that you see and yet don’t notice. One of those ships that pass you by in the night.
The business of advertising
“Advertising” somebody said “is the business of producing ads and TV commercials”. And the business of advertising by all accounts has been good, whether your agency is ranked No.1, No.8 or No.30. A whole host of categories have discovered the power of advertising. The automotive industry is booming and as a consequence the advertising spends. Never mind the fact that every car ad reminds you of some other car ad that you have seen before. The roads are clogged with two wheelers and the networks jammed with two wheeler ads, each of which tries desperately to be like its competition. Mobile services it seems has lost its pre-occupation with tariff plans. Thank God for small mercies! And in the same breath we must thank clients and agencies for continuing campaigns in the mobile space. The ‘pug’ dog continues to charm us magically! From dogs to monkey. Idea Cellular’s tune of an Ilayaraja hit has a monkey running helter- skelter but the network follows. One of the few nice ads I saw this year. If mobile services are heavy spenders, can mobile phones be far behind? One saw a lot of advertising that was hip for mobile phones. And yet to me the stand out was Motorola’s ad for MotoFlip W220, which features a young boy being grilled by his parents for having what they believe is a horrendously expensive phone. What a brilliant way of saying that the sleek phone costs only Rs.3990! FMCG continues to alternate between brand building and price cutting. Lots of advertising, not too much worthy of recall. And yet I must recall the Surf Excel commercial in Tamil with a foreign kid eating with great relish with his “hands” watched by his horrified parents. And a reassuring old lady who says that in India, we not only eat with our hands but wash with our hands as well. Banks continue to provide mediocre service but the advertising has improved dramatically. SBI stopped being “Surprisingly” diffident but had an interesting range of commercials. HSBC had some different advertising as had Bank of India. We all live in hope and one day the service of banks will match the advertising! Education (thoroughly fragmented) has still become a large consumer of space. IIPM continues to release ads that are in your face. I don’t wish to comment on how bad they are as I thankfully am not applying to management school and am therefore not the target audience. Mutual funds is another category that has advertised heavily. HDFC Standard Life Insurance had a very insightful ad for pension plans. The retail boom is yet to result in brand building advertising which seems to be still obsessed with “sales and price-offs”. Someone has to start building retail brands harnessing advertising.
Some trends
The ad industry has announced its “unbundling” of services with great fanfare. Today agencies offer specialised services and I guess this in turn makes the client’s job more challenging. He has to be strong (and if one may add enormously patient) to deal with the creative agency, the stand-alone media agency, the PR agency, the MR agency, the events agency and the sales promotion agency. Is the client man or superman, only time will tell! And yet I think there is an increasing disconnect between creative agencies and media agencies and clients are feeling the pinch. Today agencies are a lot more focused on the bottom line. And the direct reaction is declining salaries at entry levels and increasing disenchantment at the middle level. The advertising industry is growing – but where are the people? Which bright young kid in his right senses would like to join us?
The year in perspective
I remember seeing a commercial for RIKK Bank that reminds me of Indian advertising in 2006 “The most boring bank in the world” was the descriptor. “The people are working. The money is working and that’s all”. Yes people are working in advertising and agencies are making money. But we need to introspect. If we don’t get the right people, we just won’t make any money. Let 2007 be the year of talent. And may it be the year where India’s defining moment could be winning the Cricket World Cup! At least it would make it worth my while to travel all the way to Barbados!
The business of advertising
“Advertising” somebody said “is the business of producing ads and TV commercials”. And the business of advertising by all accounts has been good, whether your agency is ranked No.1, No.8 or No.30. A whole host of categories have discovered the power of advertising. The automotive industry is booming and as a consequence the advertising spends. Never mind the fact that every car ad reminds you of some other car ad that you have seen before. The roads are clogged with two wheelers and the networks jammed with two wheeler ads, each of which tries desperately to be like its competition. Mobile services it seems has lost its pre-occupation with tariff plans. Thank God for small mercies! And in the same breath we must thank clients and agencies for continuing campaigns in the mobile space. The ‘pug’ dog continues to charm us magically! From dogs to monkey. Idea Cellular’s tune of an Ilayaraja hit has a monkey running helter- skelter but the network follows. One of the few nice ads I saw this year. If mobile services are heavy spenders, can mobile phones be far behind? One saw a lot of advertising that was hip for mobile phones. And yet to me the stand out was Motorola’s ad for MotoFlip W220, which features a young boy being grilled by his parents for having what they believe is a horrendously expensive phone. What a brilliant way of saying that the sleek phone costs only Rs.3990! FMCG continues to alternate between brand building and price cutting. Lots of advertising, not too much worthy of recall. And yet I must recall the Surf Excel commercial in Tamil with a foreign kid eating with great relish with his “hands” watched by his horrified parents. And a reassuring old lady who says that in India, we not only eat with our hands but wash with our hands as well. Banks continue to provide mediocre service but the advertising has improved dramatically. SBI stopped being “Surprisingly” diffident but had an interesting range of commercials. HSBC had some different advertising as had Bank of India. We all live in hope and one day the service of banks will match the advertising! Education (thoroughly fragmented) has still become a large consumer of space. IIPM continues to release ads that are in your face. I don’t wish to comment on how bad they are as I thankfully am not applying to management school and am therefore not the target audience. Mutual funds is another category that has advertised heavily. HDFC Standard Life Insurance had a very insightful ad for pension plans. The retail boom is yet to result in brand building advertising which seems to be still obsessed with “sales and price-offs”. Someone has to start building retail brands harnessing advertising.
Some trends
The ad industry has announced its “unbundling” of services with great fanfare. Today agencies offer specialised services and I guess this in turn makes the client’s job more challenging. He has to be strong (and if one may add enormously patient) to deal with the creative agency, the stand-alone media agency, the PR agency, the MR agency, the events agency and the sales promotion agency. Is the client man or superman, only time will tell! And yet I think there is an increasing disconnect between creative agencies and media agencies and clients are feeling the pinch. Today agencies are a lot more focused on the bottom line. And the direct reaction is declining salaries at entry levels and increasing disenchantment at the middle level. The advertising industry is growing – but where are the people? Which bright young kid in his right senses would like to join us?
The year in perspective
I remember seeing a commercial for RIKK Bank that reminds me of Indian advertising in 2006 “The most boring bank in the world” was the descriptor. “The people are working. The money is working and that’s all”. Yes people are working in advertising and agencies are making money. But we need to introspect. If we don’t get the right people, we just won’t make any money. Let 2007 be the year of talent. And may it be the year where India’s defining moment could be winning the Cricket World Cup! At least it would make it worth my while to travel all the way to Barbados!
The author is Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO of Brand-comm.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
An insider’s view of branding
Brands are visible. And so too is branding. Brands have the capacity to capture our imagination. There are many images that come to our mind when we think of brands. Companies and brands strive to stand out from the clutter through one or more elements of the brand. Differentiation is the name of the game. The brand name is what most people remember and recall. The brand name can be generic – cueing the category and business. Al Ries however says that this is a recipe for disaster. Or it can be just different. Nothing straight forward or predictable about Orange in mobile services or Apple in computers. But who’s complaining? Brands can be different in terms of the very shape of the product. Who does not like Toblerone chocolates? (More so people of my age who are better off, not even looking at chocolates). But back to the sweet stuff – the very shape of the chocolate and its trademark triangle are differentiators. Brands like Harpic have a unique packaging. Other brands like KFC have a continuing character or a mascot that is instantly recognisable. Who can forget the Air India Maharajah? (Except perhaps the employees of the beleaguered airline). I cannot but remember “His Master’s Voice” and the dog. Sorry, if that belongs to my time. Some brands own colours – it is not only coke that has appropriated the colour red, but Eveready batteries as well. And Tide with its orange stands out from the blues and whites in the detergent category. Corporations too have realised the value of their identity. IBM’s venetian blinds are a property. So what’s your brand’s property? Advertising is another differentiator. Sharply positioned brands like Volkswagen, Volvo or Avis stand out from their competition. Yes, all these visible aspects of branding are outward. They are targeted at an important segment – consumers. Brands need consumers as much as consumers need brands. Most marketing theory is about branding with the consumer as target. I have no quarrel with that. But what is often sidelined is the fact that brands have other key targets. Existing and potential employees and investors to name just a few. Will your mass media product TV commercial work for a harassed and hassled employee? Will not a slick (and largely untrue) appointment ad be a red rag to a bull when the current employees are disgruntled? This is what leads me to talk about building a brand internally. Within a company. Targeted at its employees. Communicating with them. Telling them and showing them that they matter.
Talk to me
CEOs specialise in clichés. Simple one liners that they pick up in management seminars or books of famous corporate leaders. “People are our most valuable asset”. (Oh really!) “Every evening our assets go down the elevator and we hope they return the next day”. (We all live in hope don’t we)? Sadly there is a preoccupation with empty statements but a strong reluctance to “walk the talk”. People realise the value of internal communications but do not give its strategy or execution the importance it deserves. Communication of the company’s values, systems and processes are a CEO’s job. But CEOs in my opinion are more anxious to talk to the media and the CII rather than their own employees. Of course there will be CEOs who are exceptions and thank God for them. Nor does this seem to be a problem only with Indian companies. When Deloitte and Touche Human Capital conducted a survey among American CEOs who were asked which HR issues are very important to the success of the organisation, 95% of them said “effective internal communication”. Simultaneously only 22 percent agreed that they thought it was being delivered effectively. If that is the situation in the land of management gurus and corporate giants, imagine the situation that could prevail here. So here is my question to you. Do you have a planned internal communication programme in place? Who is driving it? Who is monitoring its programmes and progress? What do your employees think about it?
People first, second and third
Technology companies whether they like it or not, know that people matter. Period. And to add to the challenge, the demand for quality technology professionals seems to far outstrip the supply. To add to the excitement, some of them seem insecure as well. Adding to their insecurity is the risk of obsolescence and fear of burn out. The counselling centre that I do voluntary work for in Bangalore has a fair share of techies battered by stress at the work place and tension at home thanks to the long hours and prolonged absence from home on global trips to unhappy and unappreciative client offices. “I am an individual” he says “recognise me as one such”. “Tell me what is happening in the company, outside of my work group”. “I am worried about repetitive strain injury…tell me about it”. Savvy companies are realising that it is just great business sense to focus on their people as much as on their customers. Satisfied employees will get their friends to join the company thereby reducing recruitment costs. Disgruntled employees bring down the morale of the place and frighten prospective employees. And yet a carefully devised, consistent, well executed internal communication programme can reduce attrition and improve employee morale. And while I speak about technology companies, I am sure that is true of every other company.
The “what” and the “how”
When we talk about branding an organisation internally we need to be clear about a few things. First determine the current mood of your employees. What are their highs and lows? What are their current concerns? What is the current level of communication? While it is fine to talk of communicating, it is equally critical to understand what needs to be communicated. Is it the announcement of a rewards programme? Is it “Thank God its Friday”. Today people want communication that is impactful. Done by professionals-not an out-of-work freelancer or a disappointed copy writer who is now writing software. Ad agencies are not motivated by creating internal communication. They want big budget TV films that are shot in Switzerland. Go to a professional who understands people, HR and communications. Determine where you will communicate. It can’t be only the intranet. Where are the vantage points in the campus? Where do people congregate? Where is the opportunity to see a grafitti board for instance? Have you considered the lift doors? Monitor your communication. And last but not least – get senior management involved. Some of our most successful internal communications programmes had a champion – the CEO. Find a champion within the company. And may you have a company of brand champions. A company full of people who know what your brand stands for and who will be your best salesmen.
Talk to me
CEOs specialise in clichés. Simple one liners that they pick up in management seminars or books of famous corporate leaders. “People are our most valuable asset”. (Oh really!) “Every evening our assets go down the elevator and we hope they return the next day”. (We all live in hope don’t we)? Sadly there is a preoccupation with empty statements but a strong reluctance to “walk the talk”. People realise the value of internal communications but do not give its strategy or execution the importance it deserves. Communication of the company’s values, systems and processes are a CEO’s job. But CEOs in my opinion are more anxious to talk to the media and the CII rather than their own employees. Of course there will be CEOs who are exceptions and thank God for them. Nor does this seem to be a problem only with Indian companies. When Deloitte and Touche Human Capital conducted a survey among American CEOs who were asked which HR issues are very important to the success of the organisation, 95% of them said “effective internal communication”. Simultaneously only 22 percent agreed that they thought it was being delivered effectively. If that is the situation in the land of management gurus and corporate giants, imagine the situation that could prevail here. So here is my question to you. Do you have a planned internal communication programme in place? Who is driving it? Who is monitoring its programmes and progress? What do your employees think about it?
People first, second and third
Technology companies whether they like it or not, know that people matter. Period. And to add to the challenge, the demand for quality technology professionals seems to far outstrip the supply. To add to the excitement, some of them seem insecure as well. Adding to their insecurity is the risk of obsolescence and fear of burn out. The counselling centre that I do voluntary work for in Bangalore has a fair share of techies battered by stress at the work place and tension at home thanks to the long hours and prolonged absence from home on global trips to unhappy and unappreciative client offices. “I am an individual” he says “recognise me as one such”. “Tell me what is happening in the company, outside of my work group”. “I am worried about repetitive strain injury…tell me about it”. Savvy companies are realising that it is just great business sense to focus on their people as much as on their customers. Satisfied employees will get their friends to join the company thereby reducing recruitment costs. Disgruntled employees bring down the morale of the place and frighten prospective employees. And yet a carefully devised, consistent, well executed internal communication programme can reduce attrition and improve employee morale. And while I speak about technology companies, I am sure that is true of every other company.
The “what” and the “how”
When we talk about branding an organisation internally we need to be clear about a few things. First determine the current mood of your employees. What are their highs and lows? What are their current concerns? What is the current level of communication? While it is fine to talk of communicating, it is equally critical to understand what needs to be communicated. Is it the announcement of a rewards programme? Is it “Thank God its Friday”. Today people want communication that is impactful. Done by professionals-not an out-of-work freelancer or a disappointed copy writer who is now writing software. Ad agencies are not motivated by creating internal communication. They want big budget TV films that are shot in Switzerland. Go to a professional who understands people, HR and communications. Determine where you will communicate. It can’t be only the intranet. Where are the vantage points in the campus? Where do people congregate? Where is the opportunity to see a grafitti board for instance? Have you considered the lift doors? Monitor your communication. And last but not least – get senior management involved. Some of our most successful internal communications programmes had a champion – the CEO. Find a champion within the company. And may you have a company of brand champions. A company full of people who know what your brand stands for and who will be your best salesmen.
The author is Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO of Brand-comm
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