There was a time when I used to dream of Cameras that i would like to own, the frames i'd capture & the rest of the blah..blah.. But I couldn't afford a camera. Then came my trustry Kodak Kroma...a simple point & shoot camera that nearly redefined my existence (shall elaborate on a more opportune moment)...
Then it seemed that photography died...as a passion that is. Cameras went digital..no I am not getting into the Digital vs Manual debate here. In my opinion, digital is a great way to experiment as it saves a lot of time. Period. But with the revolution came the sharp price hike. You could not afford a decent camera for a long long time...anything over 3MPs was exorbitant and 5 MP was "way-professional"! But as it was all digital, prices tumbled soon and today its not so difficult to spot a good 8MP camera within reasonable budgets.
Digital brought in another aspect to this near-extinct..ok ok not extinct..but very niche art form. The camera phones - from radically blurry to today's MP phones, the journey has been a short one. And it managed to put a camera in the hands of all & sundry...suddenly everyone was a photographer!
It led to a lot of crap flooding web-albums, flickr & the rest, but it also opened eyes & minds of some seriously talented people who never knew that they had the eye for a frame! Its nice to see so many of my co-workers take up photography as a hobby nowadays...I couldn't imagine they would bother to spend that kinda money even just a year back!
Hmm..time i saved up some for that 400-D now...
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Maruti Estilo
Whats with Maruti anyway?
First they confuse the world with their car nomenclatures and now they are confusing them with their new designs!!
Once upon a time they launched the Maruti 1000. After the 800, it was a logical move and a near correct nomenclature for a 900-odd cc car. They they changed its engine & called it Esteem...but waitaminnit...the same car abroad was called the Swift.
Then they launch the Baleno..which incidentally is known as Esteem worldwide!
Then they launch the Swift, which is actually the same as the one abroad, BUT now it has in its portfolio an Esteem which is actually the Swift, Baleno which is actually the Esteem and Swift which has its older sibling still in production! Yikes!!!
Then there is the Zen. Now she is known abroad as the Alto. In India, they have another car called Alto which is basically a redesigned & souped up 800. Yesterday, they renamed it the "Estilo", calling it the new "Zen". AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH! Why can't they just let the car names be what they really are!!
Coming to designs, the Zen/Alto/Now-Estilo is a fantasic example of confusion...the first one looked cute in their self-propagated "jelly-bean" design. Then they came up with a "Classic/Retro" version where they essentially covered all the lamp holes (visible patch up..) and added round lamps in front and back and pasted a pseudo-retro grill in front...basically made the car look so atrocious that noone would buy it!
Then suddenly they had an export surplus...they export the same jelly bean as a 2-door hatch and it wasn't selling. The market was flooded by this piece as a "limited edition" sports version that would never be made again...and they expected people to fall for it!! It was called "Metal" or something...correct me if I'm wrong about that.
Now they have the Estilo, which by the way, looks like a redeigned now-defunct Daewoo Matiz! That's not all about their design inspirations...the new-look wagon-R looks like theold Hyundai Santro (Bug-Eyes version) that people hated so much...I guess they have been trying for 6 years to dethrone Santro (originally called Atos but thats another story!), and have finally decided that the best way is to copy the design!!! Matiz was a best seller and so is Santro, so can't really say that their hopes are unjustified...
They are now discontinuing the Baleno/ Esteem, replacing it with the SX-7. My only prayer..I hope they call it the SX-7, release it as a hatch that she really is..(add-on boots kill the design..not to mention those atrocious patch-on tail-lamps!) and then maybe offer the boot version as an option.
When this happens, I will finally agree that Indian car designs & sensibilities are on the same page as the rest of the world...
First they confuse the world with their car nomenclatures and now they are confusing them with their new designs!!
Once upon a time they launched the Maruti 1000. After the 800, it was a logical move and a near correct nomenclature for a 900-odd cc car. They they changed its engine & called it Esteem...but waitaminnit...the same car abroad was called the Swift.
Then they launch the Baleno..which incidentally is known as Esteem worldwide!
Then they launch the Swift, which is actually the same as the one abroad, BUT now it has in its portfolio an Esteem which is actually the Swift, Baleno which is actually the Esteem and Swift which has its older sibling still in production! Yikes!!!
Then there is the Zen. Now she is known abroad as the Alto. In India, they have another car called Alto which is basically a redesigned & souped up 800. Yesterday, they renamed it the "Estilo", calling it the new "Zen". AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH! Why can't they just let the car names be what they really are!!
Coming to designs, the Zen/Alto/Now-Estilo is a fantasic example of confusion...the first one looked cute in their self-propagated "jelly-bean" design. Then they came up with a "Classic/Retro" version where they essentially covered all the lamp holes (visible patch up..) and added round lamps in front and back and pasted a pseudo-retro grill in front...basically made the car look so atrocious that noone would buy it!
Then suddenly they had an export surplus...they export the same jelly bean as a 2-door hatch and it wasn't selling. The market was flooded by this piece as a "limited edition" sports version that would never be made again...and they expected people to fall for it!! It was called "Metal" or something...correct me if I'm wrong about that.
Now they have the Estilo, which by the way, looks like a redeigned now-defunct Daewoo Matiz! That's not all about their design inspirations...the new-look wagon-R looks like theold Hyundai Santro (Bug-Eyes version) that people hated so much...I guess they have been trying for 6 years to dethrone Santro (originally called Atos but thats another story!), and have finally decided that the best way is to copy the design!!! Matiz was a best seller and so is Santro, so can't really say that their hopes are unjustified...
They are now discontinuing the Baleno/ Esteem, replacing it with the SX-7. My only prayer..I hope they call it the SX-7, release it as a hatch that she really is..(add-on boots kill the design..not to mention those atrocious patch-on tail-lamps!) and then maybe offer the boot version as an option.
When this happens, I will finally agree that Indian car designs & sensibilities are on the same page as the rest of the world...
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Case Studies - making them work for you
I wrote the below piece as a mail for my office folks when sharing an "Ideal Case Study" example... It seems relevant for people..especially marketing professionals in general and hence sharing the same...do post in your comments!
A case study is a window into our world, the way we function, our strengths and capabilities. By virtue, a case study indicates an accomplishment; a project that has worked so well that it has set a standard for others to learn.
However, when we share such an accomplishment with the world - be it our clients, prospects or peers, we need to be careful of certain things that define the thin line between a project that fires imaginations vis-a-vis a "not-so-relevant" info collation exercise. Most of the times, they are not as well-versed as you in your project and hence may not immediately understand either the in-depth analysis or just a brief snapshot that is the result of your long & deailed association with a project.
Ask these questions before sharing an example:
1. What is the person's background/ area of interest or influence?
Most of the times, we end up sharing number-heavy data with MarCom managers who could be idea-oriented and creative ideas with sales managers who may just want to know numbers.
2. How easy is the data understood by a layperson?
While making it simple enough for a layperson is literally creating a textbook entry, we should be careful to gauge the level of understanding & sphere of knowledge of the person/client concerned. A lot many times presentations fall flat because the person on the other side is not as enthusiastic as us about the intricacies of a loyalty program or event setup details. We should ideally be sending across a simple message - we have done it & can do it again, and we have cases to support our claim. This brings us to the next question.
3. What is your objective?
Most probably its to interest the client enough in our work and build trust & a level of comfort with our capabilities. In business development, its to get that all-important serious appointment. At this stage, its important that what we present fulfills the following criterion:
> Captures the person's imagination : Ensures that s/he goes through the entire presentation/case study
> Showcase our capability with valid data and testimonials
> Be brief : There should be enough interest built in the process to allow that person to call back for more. If they get the entire data, mechanics and the rest in one go, they may just
- not have the time to see it all
- ignore it or ask the same thing to be presented again in-person
- lose interest if not understood (all of us agree that cases, especially data, is best explained in-person)
Therefore, our endeavor should be to deliver the basics in the first interaction and deliver it right.
Give the client an opportunity to call back!
How should we go about it then?
Tell the client a story with a happy ending. Be brief, interesting and showcase summarized achievements.
> Begin with the marketing challenge and market reality / status that needed to be tackled.
> Explain briefly the creative breakthrough and its relevance to the product/service/market
> Snapshot results and their impact - program extension? increase in market share? further activity off-shoots? Replication in other markets/for other SKU's?
> If possible, add a slide on how this can be translated for a particular client. Give the client an opportunity to call back!
Get these in place and you wil have a winner in your hand!
Monday, December 4, 2006
RadioRama
I hadn't come around to setting up my car radio for many a days and it frankly was quite irritating to keep scanning for traffic reports. As I got down to it, I quickly realized that my antiquated piece of equipment was no match for the recent radio storm that has hit New Delhi! 10 as per my last count, and I only have 6 presets..ugh..
But the funny thing is that they all play the same thing. In that context, we are a really funny lot. I remember when AIR FM came around in 94-95...Times FM they called it and it played all the latest and not-so-latest western numbers. In time, the private entrepreneurs go sick of the government bureaucracy and moved out, leaving AIR to manage it on its own. In their quest to be "cool" AIR hired some atrocious RJ's with even more atrocious accents (they are around still) and made a mockery of the whole thing...license Raj thrived and no private player entered for good five years.
Then came Mirchi in Mumbai...again with the latest foot-tapping western numbers and cooler RJ's with not so thick but rather "with-it" accents. Alas, that was not to last, and as quickly as they rapped, they turned "vernacular"...welcome Daler Mehndi!
Since then, we have been faced with a vicious attack of the channels with a channel popping in every month or so nowadays...All playing the same thing, vying for the same ad-slots and poaching the same morning RJ's (Nitin from Mirchi to Red, Simran from Red to Big, Dev from...etc etc..).
Funny thing is, all the new channels come with the same promise..no ads, no jokes, no talk...just music...look at Hit 95 or Fever 104. And even more funnily, they start by playing non-stop western numbers....dwindle down slowly to add some ads and finally the westerns disappear altogether!! What does it mean? That their primary audience or Word-of-mouth spreaders are the western music lovers....and once they have done their job, they don't deserve to listen to their favorite music, and the station suddenly becomes "one-with-the-masses"!
Then there's another angle to the story - how long can they all keep playing the same thing? They crack the same jokes, interview the same celebs, preview the same releases, warn of the same traffic jam...and as mentioned earlier, with their RJ poaching habits, its difficult to sub-consciously realize which station is which! Who will survive..as I don't think any one of them can command loyalty today unless they move into specialization. Mirchi has to play one lousy number for me to switch to the next available station. Red has to play one ad to get swapped for someone who isn't playing an ad. This has led to rolling-ads amongst some stations...brilliant idea but pissing off nonetheless...you see, an ad begins on 91.1, you switch to preset 2 i.e. 92.7 (marketeers hope that most people would set stations sequentially) to find the same ad either starting or right at the spot you left it in the last station and so on....what a piss off!!!! OK, now that you are enlightened, just to this...preset in random order or switch stations randomly and you might just survive!
Radio stations have to realize that this cannot go on forever. There will be a time soon enough when listeners won't know the difference between stations and hence not bother with who's pitching what. At that stage, they will need to do the following:
As for me, I wish the industry all the very best....the better it does, more new stations there will be. And that would at least mean that I will always have one station that will be playing non-stop music...including some good western stuff...
Amen to that!
But the funny thing is that they all play the same thing. In that context, we are a really funny lot. I remember when AIR FM came around in 94-95...Times FM they called it and it played all the latest and not-so-latest western numbers. In time, the private entrepreneurs go sick of the government bureaucracy and moved out, leaving AIR to manage it on its own. In their quest to be "cool" AIR hired some atrocious RJ's with even more atrocious accents (they are around still) and made a mockery of the whole thing...license Raj thrived and no private player entered for good five years.
Then came Mirchi in Mumbai...again with the latest foot-tapping western numbers and cooler RJ's with not so thick but rather "with-it" accents. Alas, that was not to last, and as quickly as they rapped, they turned "vernacular"...welcome Daler Mehndi!
Since then, we have been faced with a vicious attack of the channels with a channel popping in every month or so nowadays...All playing the same thing, vying for the same ad-slots and poaching the same morning RJ's (Nitin from Mirchi to Red, Simran from Red to Big, Dev from...etc etc..).
Funny thing is, all the new channels come with the same promise..no ads, no jokes, no talk...just music...look at Hit 95 or Fever 104. And even more funnily, they start by playing non-stop western numbers....dwindle down slowly to add some ads and finally the westerns disappear altogether!! What does it mean? That their primary audience or Word-of-mouth spreaders are the western music lovers....and once they have done their job, they don't deserve to listen to their favorite music, and the station suddenly becomes "one-with-the-masses"!
Then there's another angle to the story - how long can they all keep playing the same thing? They crack the same jokes, interview the same celebs, preview the same releases, warn of the same traffic jam...and as mentioned earlier, with their RJ poaching habits, its difficult to sub-consciously realize which station is which! Who will survive..as I don't think any one of them can command loyalty today unless they move into specialization. Mirchi has to play one lousy number for me to switch to the next available station. Red has to play one ad to get swapped for someone who isn't playing an ad. This has led to rolling-ads amongst some stations...brilliant idea but pissing off nonetheless...you see, an ad begins on 91.1, you switch to preset 2 i.e. 92.7 (marketeers hope that most people would set stations sequentially) to find the same ad either starting or right at the spot you left it in the last station and so on....what a piss off!!!! OK, now that you are enlightened, just to this...preset in random order or switch stations randomly and you might just survive!
Radio stations have to realize that this cannot go on forever. There will be a time soon enough when listeners won't know the difference between stations and hence not bother with who's pitching what. At that stage, they will need to do the following:
- Play distinctive music (Oldies, Hip-Hop, Raagas etc)
- Cater to distinctive populace (city slickers, kids, teenagers, college students etc)
- Have a regional or language specialization like the present crop of cable TV channels
As for me, I wish the industry all the very best....the better it does, more new stations there will be. And that would at least mean that I will always have one station that will be playing non-stop music...including some good western stuff...
Amen to that!
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