Responsible Advertising

Brands always try different ad mix to catch the attention of the public. They comes out with mixture of humor, sentiments, relations etc. We will be able to recollect many ads falling under these categories which are local as well as global. One such category is "thoughtful ads" or "serious ads" which for a second will make you think and feel about the scenario or message given in the punch line. This type of ads are different from the other categories as they should have the boldness to project an issue which are known but are less discussed or excepted. It could be either political, may be about competing brand from the same sector, a hot social issue under debate etc. The ad might be able to create a vibe in the society depend on the issue. One such initiative recently done was by "The Hindu". These ads some times will cover the brand in terms of impact and the ultimate viewer will go with the message but not able to recollect the brand. The Hindu came out with some thought provoking messages and flashed it across various mediums. These ads covered political issue, direct attack on competitor, page 3 and went up to addressing the social issues. Even though the ultimate objective was to pass on the message to the viewers that they are serious about the on going issues in the country and will report it with at most sincerity. A good job by Taproot. Some times such an initiative could make a difference in the viewers. 

Goddess under attack - The Hindu campaign against social issues

How realistic discounts are;

We are always inclined towards shopping, thus we some how look for reasons to buy or replace our existing mobile, TV, Car or any other consumer durable with us. Once again a festival season begins and all major brands are pilled up with their inventories and freebies to influence your thought process and make you walk in to their outlets. This year not like previous years, all major brands are spending extensively on advertisements. Many brands which till now believed in driving sales just through their product quality and customer supports are now started pushing their ads weeks before the festival days. Slashed price, EMI schemes, freebies etc are largely used as sales tools. 

One such brand is Sony which always stand out for its product and its quality are forced to come out with a full page ad on TOI along with Mobile store for promoting their mobile phone segment. Many of the recently launched variants are shown with a slashed price. This makes us to think twice how realistic the rates quoted always are when with in weeks of its launch almost 2000 Rs/- were reduced for certain products. Discounts are always attractive for buyers. But the fact is, the rates are hidden some were and are not visible to us and comes in light particularly during festival season or at the time when company want to get rid of the stocks. We could even get a piece of these discounts in an off season if we are able to make a good bargain with the dealer. 

The myth that i couldn't broke is how to understand the right price of a product.  

An effective sales tool called 0% EMI

Through out the year, major manufactures and consumers wait for the festival season to introduce the promotional schemes & to make the right purchases. Brands kick started this year's marketing initiatives already as the festival seasons began in some south Indian states. Mobiles, Cars, Consumer Durable etc will be eagerly waiting to start their promos in all mediums by the mid of October. Even though the consumers might not be sure whether the purchases are wise & essential, they might still go for this considering the changing taste and various affordable schemes in the market. But the recent ruling from RBI ban the 0% EMI scheme might upto a certain extend effect the expected sales. This was an effective tool used by brands in the last few month for pushing sales. Big brands such as Apple & Samsung was depending on this scheme for the sale of their high end models. With this scheme they made it look the price of Rs. 25000 or Rs. 35000 as affordable to the middle class buyers. In fact with the scheme, the brands play the card of instant sales as most of us carry a card card now a days. The schemes are definitely good if the retailers pass on the benefit of higher sales to the customers but most of the times they charges additional swiping charges above the MRP. 

Lets hope the brands will come with a new marketing tools during this festival season to brighten their sales.

How big is really big?

This question is quite relevant particularly in the Indian Mobile market where every month we welcome a new model with additional features and extra large screen size. I am yet to understand the way things are going how to differentiate mobile, tablet & phablet. Few years back it all felt like the size of these things will reduce and will come down to just as a bluetooth headset. But the fact is something different, now the 5" is the size where most of the competition is happening. Major brands such as Samsung, Micromax & Sony already introduced one each in the segment during August '13. The difference between the tablet and phones now reduced to 1.5" as Samsung Mega came with 5.8" screen.

More than calling the additional usage and experience offered by these phones are the vital reasons for the selection. Graphic games, easy to carry movies on the move, online magazines etc add the flavours. We need to wait and watch how soon will the difference of 1.5" will be eliminated and will both these categories merge in to one by wiping one of the category.

Effective Marketing

As a part of its Smart Ideas for Smarter Cities campaign, IBM and Ogilvy Paris made three billboards with different functions: One is a bench, the other is a ramp for stairs, and the last serves as a rain shelter. Such small initiatives helps a brand to catch the attention of the consumers. These initiatives don't cost much but are very much effective. The challenge is to identify such opportunities and execute your idea to it.  

Price War in Online & In Shop shopping

The year 2013 is going to witness quite a lot changes brought in by internet in our daily lives. One among the factors will be our shopping experience. The revolution called e-commerce came to the market way back in the beginning of 2000, but it took a decade to show its presence and gain popularity among the population. Last couple of years was certainly beneficial for the e-commerce industry with the entrance of smart phones, 3G, wide publicity by players such as ebay, infibeam, flipkart etc. 

As slowly the generation moved forward along with the shopping trendz the shopping experience also changed. Being vibrant is always acceptable for the youth. Thus the frequency and popularity of online shopping increased. The big question started to emerge in the market. Whether the consumers prefer online shopping above the in-shop retail shopping. The answer up to a certain limit is YES. The big reason for this is the price difference offered in both the platforms. To take an example the price of I Phone 5 in retail outlet against the online has a clear difference of Rs. 5000/-. The difference could not only be from margins, but the difference in set up cost also is vital. Every retail set up comes with some added cost of rental, electricity, staff etc. which doesn't comes in an online shop. The convenience not only limits to this, comparison, free home delivery and additional cost which comes along with normal shopping such as, eating out are completely excluded here. 

In the coming years the price war will widen with online platforms coming with more attractive offers and consumers choosing to take advantage of it sitting at home.  

Right Place at the Right Time

For a result oriented approach, every marketing activity should be time bound. Being in the right place at the right time could do 50% of the work for the brand. For this, the activities should be well planned, well organised and also well executed. A recent such campaign conducted was during Akshaya Tritiya. Most of the brands in the jewellery sector & financial services used this opportunity to drive new business through fresh purchases or new investments. With over half a lakh stickers circulated at vital locations to induce the thought among the investors to think of fresh investments during Akshaya Tritiya was initiated last weekend. More than deriving business from this activity, the main purpose was to attract or get the lime light with the innovative design and approach. An effort to be among the targets before they finalise the purchase decision.