Happy birthday Jacko

Today is Michael Jackson's Birth day

Happy birthday Jacko
A tribute to Michael Jackson

I love him. The whole world fell in love with Michael Jackson, In the early seventies, Michael along with his brothers, the Jackson 5, were the hottest success.

Michael Jackson took celebrity marketing to a new level
I don't usually write about pop culture, or about tragedies in the news. But the Michael Jackson brand has just exploded. The PR, the news, the fans, the talk shows, He is everywhere.

His fans are crazy about him. They still think he is not dead. I don’t know about that, but as a brand …brand Michael is getting bigger and bigger.

But…
Michael Jackson is dead. As far as I am concerned, the Michael Jackson I loved died a long time ago. What went on 25th June was just nothing.

What was Michael's problem, you might wonder. He had talent, he had money, he had fame, he had fans. he had 'everything, most of us can only dream about.

Deep down inside, Michael hated himself.

That's why he underwent a million surgeries.
That's why he was taking painkillers, on which it is believed he died.

What he never realised was …

"Learning to love yourself... is the greatest love of all"

P.S.- he was the greatest entertainer that ever lived and he was incomparable with any other artist. He was a phenomenon in his own right. He was a true humanitarian who contributed world

Author : Sanjay

Perception is not reality

Was on a very long break because I was busy preparing for my term end exams.

It’s been really long So I thought I must write

Even if it is, about what I have been doing all these days and about what I think of a show on star plus “sach ka saamna” Indian version of 'Moment of Truth'

I liked the show not because of the content and not because it’s about telling the truth and wining a crore rupees.
I liked the show because of sheer marketing brilliance, perfect positioning and disguised communication.

As a viewer it sounds so simple answer 21 questions truthfully and win 1 crore rupees.
But the fact is star plus is not running a charity show. There is a big trick behind it.

Few of the questions asked in the show are as follows
1. If the bank never discovers you have stolen a crore of rupees, would you steal the money?
2. "If your husband never came to know about it.. Would you consider sleeping with another man."

Here is the trick if you pay little attention ,both these questions are hypothetical and its about fantasy and every one has fantasy.

The contestant can say Yes, that means she would consider sleeping with another man if her husband never finds out". Husband need not get offended because another man is not necessarily Mr Sharma next door but perhaps Shahrukh Khan Or Brad Pitt.
Cosmopolitan magazine says fantasies are healthy

But Mr husband does not read such magazines. He is a hot blooded Indian male and will definitely feel insulted.
Knowing the consequences of saying "yes" Smita says "no".( refer to video 52nd sec)
When the polygraph beeps 'false' she looks surprised and says,"Yeh nahin ho sakta!"
Husband looks suitably crushed, embarrassed.

Smita leaves the show with zero rupees and will spend rest of her life explaining that polygraph tests are not always true. They are not admissible in court as evidence.

The truth is she was tricked. She thought she had 'nothing to hide' but discovered we are constantly hiding things. Even from ourselves.


The makers of this show have every intention of fooling you she had no choice, but Smita did and I wish she had quit when she could... She was too brave for her own good.

but you know what, friends and relatives will laugh behind Smita's . Because the 'morals' of society are supposed to be guarded by the women.
A simple ques to all the viewers who think smitha was wrong. Wernt you all thinking at that time
"How would I answer that question?"

Aur ek chhota sach yeh bhi hai I can't blame my examination for writing less on this blog. The truth is my exams lasted just 4 days.
I've just been lazy, and I think I'm getting hooked on to the idiot box. Movies ,cricket ( specially ashes) and all types of reality shows .They provide 'Instant gratification.

I need to remind myself that I am first and foremost a blogger.
So I am back … Happy reading.

Author: Sanjay

Sponsors of tomorrow are fake

Intel the computer chip maker, has launched an integrated branding campaign using the theme, “Sponsors of Tomorrow”.


From this TVC the company wants to reposition itself, as the company is transforming from microprocessor company to platforms and solutions company

While watching t20 world cup you must have come across the TVC of Intel which features Ajay Bhatt, the co-inventor of USB, who is a rock star at Intel because of his achievements. In a humorous way, the TVC shows women glancing over him when he walks in to get coffee and men are eagerly waiting to get his autograph. The TVC ends with the line: ‘Our rock stars aren’t like your rock stars’.

Brilliant commercial I liked it Except for one thing the Ajay Bhatt in the commercial is not the actual Ajay Bhatt who invented USB that’s an commercial actor ,and if you compare the engineer rock star to the real Ajay Bhatt the actor looks — hmm, a stereotype of an Indian Engineer.”

If Intel says that our rock stars aren’t like your rock stars’, then why do they have to use an actor for the TVC, in a way they are contradicting themselves,

Mistri Diagnosis

They should have used Ajay Bhatt to act for the commercial that would have made more sense and their communication would have been in-sync with the commercial as this would have raised the credibility of the communication. Until the viewers know that the person named as Ajay Bhatt in the commercial is not the original person, they regard the ad to be effective but once they come to know that he is an actor and not the original Ajay Bhatt, their perception about the brand changes and an question arises as to why didn’t Intel use the real Ajay Bhatt in the commercial.

Author: Sanjay

Mummy mummy bhook lagi!!!

A couple of years ago my class teacher entered our classroom with a stranger who had a big cardboard carton. We were asked one by one to pick a shiny yellow colour packet bearing-Maggi Noodles.

In 1982, when Nestle (then known as Food Specialities Ltd.) considered launching Maggi instant noodles. The company had several options of choosing from several alternative positioning. The product could have been launched as an alternative for ‘Chinese dishes’ at home or as a ‘mini meal’.

Consumer research showed the company would fetch profits if it were positioned as a tasty, instant snack, made at home and initially aimed at children. There were no direct competitors to Maggi then. For starters this was the brand that pioneered the entire category of packaged food in India. Not easy in a country where freshly cooked food was the norm. The sampling exercise did great wonders for the brand as the four letter word-FREE is very powerful.

Maggi was launched in Delhi in 1983....Even before I was born.....Maggi became a quintessential Indian food.

Maggi has been a part of numerous memorable experiences of my life. From being a midnight snack in the hostel while mugging for exams, to eating vegetable cheese chilli Maggi in the college canteen for dinner. Maggi easy to cook was the first cooking experience for numerous youngsters. It is also the fifth most trusted brand in Indian Food category and the most valued FMCG brand.

Nestlé’s Maggi has stuck to the jingle that marked its entry in the country 25 years ago with instant noodles. The jingle has indeed helped in creating a formidable brand. Maggi’s market share is well above 90 per cent. Maggi is the biggest brand in the Nestlé portfolio in the country. So, why kill the jingle.

This year being the 25th anniversary of maggi, the brand has decided not to litter the sky with hoardings on the occasion. The ads will play Nostalgia. Thus, customers will be invited to share their “Maggi moments” with the company. If the company likes the way you prepare Maggi, you could find your photo on Maggi packs. A new website called www.meandmerimaggi.com.

Maggi among other FMCG products has one of the best and unchanged Positioning. This brand shows how simple strategic positioning ideas almost always come in small words. Maggi found a vacant, strong position and ‘sat on it’ as the ‘Fast to cook’, Good to eat’ any time sanck.

Guest author: Megha

Survival of the fittest

You all must be aware of the theory of survival of the fittest.Which means only the fittest organisms will prevail. So too with brands. During this economic slowdown the brands which can innovate and can give higher value to customers will only survive.

Consumers have become smarter and tougher. Consumers are now asking harder questions to themselves. “Do we really need it?” “If we need it, do we need it right now, or can we wait to purchase it?” At last: “Do we even want it?
So what should marketers do???

Is lowering the price only way out to add value??

I say no…

In a down economy, marketers think a lot about price. They think that since times are tough, people care about price and nothing but price.
Of course, people actually care more about value. They care about value more than they used to because they can’t afford to overpay, they don’t want to make a mistake with their money.

An easy mathematical equation

Value = benefit/price.
That means that one way to make value go up is to lower price, right?
The thing is, there’s another way to make the value go up. Increase what you give. Increase quality and quantity. Increase the benefit and the value will go up.

Vodafone understands this concept very well and that is why they are not going for any price cuts rather they are emphasising more on creating value for the customers with the help of value added services they are increasing the benefit.(Vodafone new tvc characters zoozoos are to promote value added services)

Vodafone is spending profoundly to promote value added services .Vodafone is not decreasing the price instead increasing the benefit which will result in greater value.

Mistri diagnosis

When the going gets tough, customers get tough too. They start to pay closer attention. They start to demand more.
Smart marketers should see this as an opportunity and act on it by strengthening their brands to take advantage of the contracting economy. Its time when weak brands get eliminated and the strong brands gain stronger foot hold. Companies like Vodafone which increase their media spending during recession times will reap the benefits during upturn.

Author: Sanjay

India votes...

I am writing this blog just a day before general election results will be announced .In this election marketers tried to sell political parties to voters like any other product and services.

Media was used and exploited by almost all the political parties. There was significant role played by news media in influencing voters in the general elections...

You will be surprised to know that political parties spent around Rs 800 crores in two months on communications — an amount that top advertisers like Hindustan Unilever spend in an entire year.

So why this was done this year??

The obvious reason which I could think of is that, this time, there were more than 10 crore first-time voters, mostly in urban areas.

So the political parties after identifying (segmenting) this group targeted the voters by using most effective media.

Media may not yet swing an election in someone’s favour but media, more than ever is gaining a reputation of being an influencer.

An average urban Indian viewer is mature enough to understand the exaggerations, but the same cannot be said about the semi urban and rural voters for whom TV is possibly one of the most important influencer.

Mistri diagnosis:

What we see and read is only the battle between the post, power and money. So it is like voting for the best amongst the worst. Media does play the role of informing the citizens on what’s happening in the country about politics, but when it comes to the individual decision of giving votes, I’m sure most of the citizens do not even know their candidates. So this time I am in favour of conventional marketing because advertising for political parties is different from advertising for products and services .The earlier method of door-to door voting was at least more informative.

Author: Sanjay

I am delighted...

Today businesses are sustained by customers. Satisfied customers keep a business afloat while delighted customers make it grow by leaps and bounds.

This makes more sense during the time of economic slowdown, marketers should try to exceed customer expectations and create customer delight.

That is what exactly Vodafone has done…

If you have prepaid subscription it may have happened many a times that you were unable to complete an important conversation. So many words remain unsaid as you were not able to buy a new refill. Well, Vodafone comes up with an amazing innovative solution which exceeds customer expectations.

Vodafone is offering a little bit extra just when you need it the most. Vodafone subscribers will now get a Credit of Rs. 10. If you are a Vodafone prepaid subscriber with a balance less than Rs. 5 then take advantage of this offer. Just sms CREDIT on the toll free number 144 and Rs. 10 will be credited to your account.

I am a Vodafone user and I am delighted

Mistri Diagnosis:
“Consumer is no longer the King. He is God,”
The marketers need to listen to the instructions of consumers and accordingly build their brand around them.
People don’t really need advertising, services drive the best brands not traditional advertising. There is a need to bring in innovation. Brands have to be honest and relevant and need to reach out to people.

Author: Sanjay