Two Bad Ads

“Boss ko bolo wife bula rahi hai” 

Airtel TV ad has attracted a share of attention (mostly criticism). The feminist attempt is tacky, with glaring contradictions that are difficult to digest. The biggest one is –the “boss” is sitting in the corner office is a task master, will not budge and expect the team to stay back and work. She does not stay back to work with the team, but has a heart of gold to go and home and cook for the husband who she ordered to stay back and work in the office.

While it is easy not to like the Airtel ad, it is not so with another TV ad currently doing the rounds. 

The ‘Bold Look of Kohler’ ad almost succeeds in enticing the viewer with its attempt at class. The concept and execution is so sophisticated that the viewer almost falls for it. Almost.

The ad tells the viewer to experience the new range of Kohler’s toilet bathroom fittings. Looks like the toilet does all the cleaning without one having to lift a finger (pun unintended!). The accompanying sentimental copy tries to draw the viewer into a make-believe world of - “Hands are made to play; hands are made to share; hands are made for joy; hands are made for love” 

So what happens to “hands are made for” - washing the bedridden; feeding the lepers; treating a bed-sore; pushing a wheel-chair? How about hands that tare made for lifting loads of stone and sand?

The discriminatory tone of the ad is apparent. It is elitist and has terrible snob value.

Some interesting questions about Personal Branding

When I launched my business in Personal Branding for the CXO community, it drew a variety of responses:


1. “That’s very interesting...”

2. “Is it PR?”

3. “Personal Branding? Wow, that’s very unique.”

4. “Is it the same as Image Management?”

5. “Oh! So what exactly is it?”

6. “Definitely needed!”

7. “Do I really need it?”

8. “My boss needs it. Can you help?”

Personal Branding is definitely not PR or Image Management. Click here to read why - http://bit.ly/h6UAFJ
 

What's your question about Personal Branding?

Airtel's logo cosmetology

'Brand Cosmetology: Skin deep or true value'. I wrote this blog a few days back and it seems that the timing is just perfect. Airtel unveiled its new logo today. I have been a loyal customer of Airtel for the last 4 years and here's my verdict, as a customer - "I don't care. It doesn't excite me. I am not sure what difference it makes in my life." And I want to ask Airtel - "What's in it for me?" I upgraded to a new Android smart phone last weekend and I am still unable to get my mail box set up because Airtel does not have a GPRS support number that can be dialed from a landline. Every time I call their support team they patiently tell me that my phone will not be able to download the mailbox settings, while it is in use and therefore I will need to call them from another mobile. So, till I can request someone to part with their mobile phone for at least 20 minutes, I will be left without a mail box.

That was the customer perspective.

Click here - http://bit.ly/dBF3c8 to read a brand and marketing professional's perspective.

What do you think?

News link for Airtel announces new logo - http://bit.ly/bBnRZf

Brand Cosmetology: Skin deep or true value?

The logo is not the brand. Most of us know it. Still, we obsess with what I refer to as brand cosmetology - the theory, design, color/placement protocols etc., of the logo and other brand expressions.

“Thou shalt not place the logo anywhere, except in its lawful recommended position” admonishes the Brand Guideline book.

The question is - who really cares? Customers are not going to look at the blue of your logo and think “That’s a reliable company”. Employees are not going to look at some imagery on your website and say “Wow! They are innovative. I will join them”. Business partners will not see your award-winning logo design and say “That’s a bold, innovative company. We’ll do business with them”. If you have carefully chosen green or yellow to convey something, the customer is still going to see red in a moment of poor experience. A shift in its recommended print position is not going to jeopardize brand loyalty.

Still, brand cosmetology swallows up precious time, money and energy.

What If -
1. We re-deploy our energies to where the brand truly resides – in the experience of the customer?

2. We re-order the Brand Rule Book to simply focus on the non-negotiable principles of customer value?

3. The Brand manager says – “We don’t mind where you place the logo in the ad. But you better not mess with customer experience”?

4. We say no to spending millions of dollars on designing or re-designing the company logo?

5. We do not explain the logo form or color rationale and let each brand experience convey the real story?

6. We do away with the text and theory and let proof points demonstrate our brand value?

7. What if we talk less and do more?

Thoughts?

An Exemplary Example of how the Indian Medical Fraternity upheld Brand India

News of the Super Bug, named NDM 1 (New Delhi M-1) broke and gathered momentum in just 4 days last week. We went from mild curiosity to sheer panic. Brand India is already battling issues and negativity – the recent CWG quagmire - among others.

We certainly didn’t need this report to bug India further.

What caused the headlines and the scare was that the Super Bug Report has been published by ‘Lancet’ – one of the world’s most respected Medical Journals. This would mean that the thriving Medical Tourism / Medical Value Travel to India would be hit in a big way.

Quickly recognizing the urgency, Barkha Dutt of 24x7NDTV, put together a discussion on her Talk Show – “We the People” that was aired on August 15th. An eminent panel * was invited to discuss the topic.

What unfolded as a discussion for the next 60 minutes was a worthy example of how Brand India was upheld by panel members from the Indian Medical Fraternity and other professionals in related fields.

Here’s how:

1. The panelists simplified the medical jargon for laymen to understand what the Super Bug report was all about. The simplification was underscored by a brilliant prowess in articulation and communication skills by the panel members. Take-away for marketing folks: Simplify; Simplify; Simplify.

2. While some of the panelists were visibly upset about the methodology etc., they were neither self-defensive nor offensive. With a clear presentation of facts, they questioned the sample size and methodology of the report (just 37 across 2 cities) and asked if this was enough to say that India as a whole has anti-biotic resistance?

They questioned the basis of the Travel Advisory against India issued by the Medical Journal, when, in fact, antibiotic resistance has been prevalent world-wide and has been worrying the medical world for a long time.

They put the question back to the Medical Journal and asked if it had issued an Advisory to UK citizens against visiting UK hospitals when the UK was hit by MRSA.

Without arrogance or false pride, they made a case for Indian Medicine and why Indian medical prowess was equal or higher, and not just cheaper, than any other country in the world.

3. This panel demonstrated remarkable maturity and restraint, despite the anger and frustration in what they saw as an unfair setback to India’s fantastic and genuinely earned Medical Tourism.

A take-away specifically for our politicians towards Brand India’s up-keep: Please keep out the ugliness of word, gesture and action in your debates and discussions. Brand India goes down every time our electronic media give you air time.

4. The panel members had the vision to look beyond the negatives of the Report. They unequivocally agreed that the Lancet Study served a more important purpose – that of introspection and speedy action for India in the field of Medical Hygiene – an area where a lot needs to be done.

These members gave their audience something to think about - Have the courage to pause and look for a take-away, even if it the result/scenario is not palatable. Own up and admit to failures; Come together. Collaborate. Take action.

A big salute and thank you to the eminent panel members – you did Brand India proud.


*Panelists on this show included : Dr. Naresh Trehan - Chairman & MD, Medanta-Medicity; K Sujata Rao – Health Secretary; Dr. K Srinath Reddy, President – Public Health Foundation of India; Dr. Ram Subramaniam and Dr. Abdul Ghafur Khan, both associated with Apollo Hospital, Chennai and Dr. Padma Krishnan from the College of Microbiology, Chennai. Also invited was Prof Thomas R Walsh – Professor, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, who led the study based out of Bristol.

In the age of social media, can marketing really own the brand?

In today’s cacophonic age of social media, the customer seems to have taken over the brand. Much like the South African Vuvuzelas, the voice (and noise?) of the customer on the Net is deafening.

Everyone has a say and the word spreads so fast (with Tweets, blogs, comments, photographs and videos) that the brand gets created, destroyed, worshipped and hated all at once.

• How can marketing play a consistent proactive brand management program to beat the lightning speed of the Voice on the Net?
• If ultimately customer experience is giving way to customer voice, how can marketing influence what’s being said and won’t it still be a reactive program?

The Power of Personalization in Customer Loyalty - Airtel does it right

As I swung my car into the driveway, our security guard ran up to hand me a thick manila envelope that had arrived by courier.

I drew out a red cover on which was printed – “Wishing you a Happy New Year”. Inside was a desk calendar. The first leaf had the calendar month of April 2010. It had the image of a neon light, on the front facade of a cinema house, with the words – “Now showing Guru. Premier Tonight. Azra Fathima in a Leading Role.”

“What’s this?” I was confused initially. And then, I couldn’t help smiling and saying “wow” at the same time. The “wow” grew bigger with each turn of the calendar leaf.

Using a simple, time-tested formula, Airtel had reinforced the power of brand personalization. They personalized each page of the calendar month, by including my name beautifully in each message:


 May had the words – “It’s good to be ahead, Azra Fathima” painted on a race track

 June had a golden egg, nestled among many white ones, that said – “One in a million – Azra Fathima”

 July announced a message on the airport departure board – “Azra Fathima – your private jet is ready for departure. It will take off at your convenience”

 An Olympic track & field stadium with side boards screaming – “Sponsored by Azra Fathima” was splashed on the August page.

 September displayed a rack of thick, velvety book, standing in a row. On one of them were the words – “Eid Mubarak, Azra Fathima”

 An iPod playing the song – “All time hit Azra Fathima” showed up on the October leaf

 “Happy Diwali Azra Fathima” in a burst of fireworks were splashed in November

 No prizes for guessing the December & January messages

 February, my birthday month, had a yummy strawberry custard cake with just – “Azra Fathima” squeezed out in a bright red syrup


Even as a dyed-in-the-wool advertising and marketing professional, all too familiar with the “customer loyalty and brand strategies” that go behind such an effort, I responded and reacted just like any other customer – absolute delight.


The warm glow of brand loyalty did not stop with me - softly, but surely spreading to my 13-year old, who has been showing off the calendar to just about anyone who’s been visiting home. No prizes again for guessing what will be her first choice, or at least the first brand in her consideration, when she starts to go mobile.


If the timing of sending this calendar has been part of the strategy, (and not a horribly gone wrong design-print-production delay), then it is brilliant. No one expects a calendar in April! Airtel combined the oddity of the timing with the awesome power of personalization. It’s precious, everlasting and forever. And it’s going to replace the nicest desktop calendar on my table.

Personalization and customization are age-old and revered laws of marketing. However, its implementation is a labor of love. You have to be in love with your customer. That’s the only way to love your brand. When you take your brand out and keep the customer in the center, you ensure that your brand is loved. Paradoxical, but true.

Personalization is an easier love story to script in the B2C industry. In B2B marketing, it gets a lot trickier. And if the objective is prospect/demand generation in B2B – then it calls for a more detailed wooing strategy – the target; the timing; the content; the persistence; the intimate knowledge of the organization and the individual. But then, that’s the topic of another Blog!