tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76773722024-03-24T09:38:30.531+05:30e MagusDigital Rainmaker:
Welcome. You are invited to trespass and graze here. This is my personal virtual estate. Find fresh and green insights, ideas, and information on digital marketing, technology, branding and advertisingmycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-88765305330644606252024-03-24T09:37:00.003+05:302024-03-24T09:37:37.130+05:30AI Picture is worth a 1,000 lies<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i> <span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">How AI-Altered Images impacts the Integrity of Marketing, Social Media, and Communications</span></i></b></span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember42" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">I'll start out by saying that AI-altered images represent a powerful transformative tool, revolutionising the way brands engage with their audience. Take, for instance, a fashion brand utilising AI to retouch photos for a sleeker, more polished look. With the capacity to enhance visuals, correct imperfections, and create aesthetically pleasing content, otherwise which will have to be made from the scratch - increasing time & expenses, AI offers marketers an unprecedented level of creative control. This ability to craft captivating imagery that can elevate brand perception, attract consumer attention, and drive engagement in a digital world - where visual content is the key to drive competitive advantage.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember43" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">But in today's marketing, the allure of perfection through product or communication has become an irresistible temptation. <i>And my thoughts are more fundamental.</i></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember44" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">With artificial intelligence (AI) technology, altering images to meet unattainable standards has become not just possible, but alarmingly prevalent. The ramifications of this trend stretch far beyond mere aesthetics, infiltrating the very fabric of trust upon which relationships—both personal and professional—are built.<span class="white-space-pre" style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre !important;"> </span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember45" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">In marketing, being genuine is crucial, but the rise of AI-edited images creates a dilemma. Although these pictures may grab people's attention with their flawless look, they actually damage the trust between brands and customers. What starts as an attempt to look perfect can end up breaking trust, as customers realise the big difference between the images they see and the actual reality.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember46" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">On social media platforms, brands are often advised to act and behave as if they are ‘humans’ as it will help build connection and community. But ‘humans are not perfect’ idiom has gone out of the window and the platforms have become breeding grounds for deceptive imagery. Influencers and celebrities, eager to maintain an illusion of flawlessness, routinely employ AI tools to manipulate their photos. This deceit actually contributes to a culture of comparison and inadequacy that undermines self-esteem and distorts perceptions of beauty. And for brands, it is the start of building (fake)relationship based on lies.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember47" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">In communications, the implications of AI-altered images extend beyond personal aesthetics to the very fabric of truth itself. With the ability to fabricate convincing fake images, the potential for misinformation and manipulation is unprecedented. From political propaganda to falsified evidence, the ramifications of this digital deception are profound, threatening the integrity of public discourse and eroding trust in institutions.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember48" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">The stakeholders involved in marketing (marketers, agencies, AI platforms, publishing platforms, media companies, etc) can take action to stop the spread of this malaise:-</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember49" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"></p><ul style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: var(--color-text); font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><li style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: 0.8rem 0px 0.8rem 3.2rem; padding-left: 0.8rem; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><i>Self-regulation on application of AI generated/edited images</i></li><li style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: 0.8rem 0px 0.8rem 3.2rem; padding-left: 0.8rem; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><i>Transparency - disclosures regarding use of AI tools in image manipulation</i></li><li style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: 0.8rem 0px 0.8rem 3.2rem; padding-left: 0.8rem; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><i>Platforms/publishers to have scanning tools to detect and flag suspicious imagery</i></li><li style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: 0.8rem 0px 0.8rem 3.2rem; padding-left: 0.8rem; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><i>Traceability: AI tools to embed default tracking code on all images that are created/edited in their platform<span class="white-space-pre" style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre !important;"> </span></i></li></ul><p></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember50" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">To be real, marketers, content creators, and regular folks need to avoid falling for the temptation of faking it online. True connections with brands happen when they're open and honest, not when they're trying to look perfect. In the world of digital media, we should remember that a picture's worth isn't about being flawless, but about stirring up real feelings and building genuine relationships.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember51" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">AI tools for images is a powerful tool. As someone said, with great power comes great responsibility. Brands need to use this power wisely.....not vice-ly</p><div><br /></div>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-78189521657378330192024-01-25T19:41:00.001+05:302024-01-25T19:41:12.533+05:30How can brands use zen philosopy into their marketing activities?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RzrYAX8Ru-Bh-7qpmaiRmv5GfAourrzwmEJOgG0wro466dFXhAVZVm5ajRQ49yHeGCUby-kHih2nPA_51lBwjOfPdyxwJBADon3ZZQaByHJjFx8YALyyr8KBOLc_heMrNVh_cSJLKus2s-BB1UaVZWLLmdGUxF_lJ3auaFjJhCF-Xsc3LzyFUQ/s2000/Zen%20Marketing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="2000" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RzrYAX8Ru-Bh-7qpmaiRmv5GfAourrzwmEJOgG0wro466dFXhAVZVm5ajRQ49yHeGCUby-kHih2nPA_51lBwjOfPdyxwJBADon3ZZQaByHJjFx8YALyyr8KBOLc_heMrNVh_cSJLKus2s-BB1UaVZWLLmdGUxF_lJ3auaFjJhCF-Xsc3LzyFUQ/w657-h197/Zen%20Marketing.png" width="657" /></i></a></div><i><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Brands can incorporate the following seven principles inspired by Zen philosophy, along with the concept of wabi-sabi, into their marketing activities to enhance their approach and connect more authentically with their audience:</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><u>Kanso (Simplicity):</u> Embrace simplicity in design, messaging, and overall brand presentation. Streamline visuals and communications to convey a clear and straightforward message, allowing consumers to easily connect with the brand. Think Apple's design – clean, sleek, and instantly recognizable. It's about cutting through the noise and letting your brand speak with clarity. Less is often more.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><u>Fukinsei (Asymmetry):</u> Emphasize the beauty of asymmetry in product design, packaging, and advertising. Create visual interest by avoiding perfect symmetry, encouraging consumers to appreciate uniqueness and imperfection. Take a look at how Haagen-Dazs designs their ice cream packaging – each swirl is a little different, and that's what makes it beautiful. Asymmetry tells a story and draws people in.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><u>Koko (Austerity):</u> Focus on essential elements in marketing materials. Avoid unnecessary complexity or extravagance. A minimalist approach can evoke a sense of purity and clarity, helping consumers to better understand and remember the brand. Ever wonder why Muji's products feel so pure and essential? Austerity in marketing means focusing on what truly matters, letting the core of your brand shine through without unnecessary frills.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><u>Shizen (Naturalness):</u> Integrate a natural and authentic feel into branding. Showcase the genuine aspects of products or services, emphasizing their natural origins or processes. This authenticity fosters trust and resonates with consumers seeking transparency. Think Patagonia – they're all about the natural, authentic experience. Highlight the genuine, let your audience see the real roots of your brand. Authenticity builds trust.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><u>Yugen (Subtle Grace):</u> Infuse marketing with subtle elegance and grace. Use nuanced and refined elements that resonate with the target audience, creating an emotional connection. This approach encourages consumers to appreciate the brand on a deeper level. Think Tiffany & Co. – the little blue box, the subtle grace that speaks volumes. Small, refined details create an emotional connection that lasts.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><u>Datsuzoku (Freedom): </u>Break away from conventional marketing norms. Encourage creative thinking and innovative approaches that deviate from the expected. This freedom in marketing expression can help the brand stand out and be memorable. Red Bull did this brilliantly – associating their brand with extreme sports was a break from the norm, a daring move that paid off. Don't be afraid to let your marketing soar into uncharted territory. Go off the beaten path</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><u>Seijaku (Tranquility):</u> Cultivate a sense of calm and tranquility in marketing materials. Whether through imagery, messaging, or overall branding, create an atmosphere that promotes relaxation and peace. This can resonate positively with consumers, fostering a serene association with the brand. Picture a spa ad – serene, calm, and inviting. Even in our bustling world, you can create marketing that exudes tranquility, making your brand a haven for your audience.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>And then there's the popular concept of <u>Wabi-Sabi.</u> It's like appreciating a well-worn leather jacket or a vintage watch. Every scratch and wrinkle tells a story. Celebrate the imperfections of your brand; they're what make it uniquely beautiful. It's about acknowledging that nothing lasts forever, and that's okay.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Let's tell stories, embrace authenticity, and create experiences that linger in the minds and hearts of our audience.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-69685739491293707982024-01-03T10:35:00.001+05:302024-01-03T10:35:42.303+05:30A Zen Perspective on Building Authentic Connections with Consumers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9US0A6XYvQ8RjUVYvDSCjFZrgORTCebni4qa9Xhr8ZORgEe4GEHrrra1g6799Y2of5EWQYwQ1iUgmeOHXk5KEWuyXCUkG4G97e3xSX1YlQcdqtCiNIhSI-Czd3rJbqO8CC3Uq37URX5W2UwVvWHmYvYjmiikeSCcjpJXJXDGO3FeTreGcwcuFNw/s2000/Zen%20Cover%20Marketing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="2000" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9US0A6XYvQ8RjUVYvDSCjFZrgORTCebni4qa9Xhr8ZORgEe4GEHrrra1g6799Y2of5EWQYwQ1iUgmeOHXk5KEWuyXCUkG4G97e3xSX1YlQcdqtCiNIhSI-Czd3rJbqO8CC3Uq37URX5W2UwVvWHmYvYjmiikeSCcjpJXJXDGO3FeTreGcwcuFNw/w714-h214/Zen%20Cover%20Marketing.png" width="714" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I began delving deeper into Zen philosophy during the Covid lockdown, became hooked, and now make effort to incorporate its principles into my day-to-day life. As a marketing consultant, I occasionally attempt to integrate Zen-inspired strategies into marketing too. Some interesting concepts have emerged and I wanted to share my thoughts with you.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In the fast-paced world of marketing, where trends come and go and consumer preferences evolve rapidly, brands often find themselves navigating turbulent waters. In this dynamic landscape, the timeless principles of Zen philosophy can serve as a guiding light for marketers seeking to establish genuine connections with their audience. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Embrace Simplicity:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">At the core of Zen philosophy is the principle of simplicity. In a world bombarded with information, consumers appreciate brands that cut through the noise and convey their message with clarity. In my experience, I’ve seen that simplifying product offerings, messaging, and brand identity can lead to increased consumer understanding and trust.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Take, for instance, the success of Apple. The tech giant's minimalist design and straightforward communication resonate with consumers who seek simplicity in a cluttered marketplace. By adopting a less-is-more approach, brands can create a sense of calm and clarity, fostering a deeper connection with their audience.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Cultivate Mindfulness in Marketing:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Zen philosophy places a strong emphasis on being present in the moment—a principle that can be applied to marketing strategies. By being present in the moment, I don’t mean real-time or moment-based marketing :D </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I have observed that brands practicing mindfulness / empathy in their campaigns, social media interactions, and customer service can create a sense of connection and authenticity.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Encourage consumers to engage with your brand on a deeper level by crafting campaigns that evoke emotions and prompt thoughtful reflection. By fostering mindfulness, brands can position themselves as more than just providers of products or services—they become companions in the journey of life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Build Trust Through Transparency:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Zen philosophy encourages openness and transparency, values that can significantly enhance brand-consumer relationships. I find that consumers are more likely to trust brands that are honest about their values, practices, and product origins.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Take the example of Patagonia, a brand that transparently communicates its commitment to environmental sustainability. By openly sharing information about its supply chain and ethical practices, Patagonia has built a community of loyal customers who share the brand's values. I suggest that brands can build trust by proactively addressing concerns, admitting mistakes, and being transparent about their operations.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b>Practice Active Listening:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In the world of marketing, listening to your audience is as important as delivering a message. Zen philosophy teaches the art of active listening, a practice that I consider crucial for understanding consumer needs and preferences.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Through social media monitoring, surveys, and customer feedback, brands can gain valuable insights into the desires and expectations of their audience. I recommend that brands take a humble approach, acknowledging and responding to customer feedback, and incorporating it into their strategies. This not only fosters a sense of inclusivity but also demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Sometimes, in my recommendations as a marketing consultant, I’ve included concepts of Zen philosophy. Clients do take into it and intuitively understand the power in transforming brand-consumer relationships. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">By embracing simplicity, practicing mindfulness, building trust through transparency, and actively listening to their audience, brands can create authentic connections that withstand the test of time. In a world where authenticity is highly valued, incorporating Zen-inspired principles into marketing strategies can set brands apart and foster relationships that go beyond transactional exchanges.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I’ll try to articulate my thoughts more in subsequent articles. In the meantime, do let me know your thoughts on the same</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Have a great year ahead!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Cheers,</div><div><br /></div></div><p><br /><br /><br /></p>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-25666068626841613062023-12-23T19:39:00.002+05:302023-12-23T19:39:36.469+05:30How to avoid Greenwashing<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPP6GApPCTsR1D9oi4-CB1Jc1-GcP9eE11BfaxEZQ8Tt25DgREipswW2raw4lV1FSopEGI8_pyHXMBn2WGQsBW0CiY8EaKwwlCSvAilmAjs9cq58evp_mkV2JhPneR0kqpuPnY1AFvVNc2BjRLUFg503MEo6z8J6YPr53EuRkI9VCR5_4qKdtRQ/s1000/greenwashing2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="1000" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPP6GApPCTsR1D9oi4-CB1Jc1-GcP9eE11BfaxEZQ8Tt25DgREipswW2raw4lV1FSopEGI8_pyHXMBn2WGQsBW0CiY8EaKwwlCSvAilmAjs9cq58evp_mkV2JhPneR0kqpuPnY1AFvVNc2BjRLUFg503MEo6z8J6YPr53EuRkI9VCR5_4qKdtRQ/w689-h371/greenwashing2.jpg" width="689" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Image Source: sustainablefuturenews.com)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>s consumers are increasing demanding products & services that have a purpose – especially in terms of ecological impact, brands have started communicating their environmental and sustainability initiatives. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But, many a times, what they say is just that – say. ASCI has come out with a draft guidelines on environmental/green claims. (https://www.ascionline.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DRAFT-GUIDELINES.-Environmental.Green-Claims-16.11.2023.pdf) which means, every claim needs to be backed by actionable initiatives & results.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">While brands need to have a comprehensive strategy to integrate these values into their core marketing approach on driving positive environmental impact; they need to be more careful on how to avoid greenwashing, ensuring genuine commitment and transparency.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In general, any business/brand can look at various functions within the organization where they can initiate environmental & sustainability activities. Jotting few random thoughts on the same</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>1. Supply Chain:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Supplier Selection: Identify and partner with suppliers demonstrating strong environmental practices, ensuring alignment with your sustainability goals.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Transparency Measures: Establish transparent communication channels with suppliers, encouraging them to disclose and improve their own sustainability metrics.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>2. Manufacturing:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Energy Efficiency: Implement energy-efficient technologies and processes to minimize the environmental impact of manufacturing operations.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Materials Sourcing: Incorporate recycled and responsibly sourced materials into production processes to showcase commitment to sustainable practices.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>3. Packaging:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Minimalistic Design: Opt for minimalistic packaging designs to reduce waste and emphasize a commitment to eco-friendly practices.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Eco-friendly Materials: Transition to biodegradable or recyclable packaging materials to align with sustainability goals.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>4. Logistics:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Optimized Transportation: Evaluate and optimize transportation routes to minimize carbon footprint and improve overall logistics efficiency.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Fleet Sustainability: Gradually transition to a green fleet, integrating electric or hybrid vehicles to further reduce environmental impact.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>5. Marketing Collaterals and Activities:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Educational Content: Develop informative content to educate consumers about your sustainability initiatives, showcasing the positive impact of their choices.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Clear Messaging: Maintain clear and transparent communication in marketing materials, avoiding exaggerated claims and ensuring authenticity.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Engagement Campaigns: Create engaging campaigns that involve consumers in sustainability efforts, fostering a sense of shared responsibility.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">By integrating sustainability into the core of your marketing strategy across the supply chain, manufacturing, packaging, logistics, and marketing activities, I think brands can authentically contribute to environmental goals while building trust and loyalty among consumers. This holistic approach not only avoids greenwashing but also positions the brand as a leader in sustainable practices. Then as a brand you can say, that you just don’t talk the talk, but also walk the talk.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div><p><br /><br /></p>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-74742709751973632462023-12-17T17:23:00.004+05:302023-12-17T17:23:49.298+05:30Can Advertising Agencies Look at Value-Based Compensation?<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;">Quite sometime back I had posted on LinkedIn an update mentioning, in the future, agencies will be offered value based compensation by clients. Few days back I met one of my ex-colleague and he gave his own POV and also asked me to elaborate on my thoughts. Albeit the delay, this long post is just that.</span></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">Alright, so picture this: the ad agency game, a whirlwind of creativity and strategy. But here's the plot twist – the traditional billing method is feeling a bit outdated. For more than 50 years, everything in the agency has changed, except the retainer fee. It is like watching multiple seasons of a TV serial but with that one character who has not changed - in looks or in personality.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">Having a retainer based fee is fine. I’ve nothing against it. It’s like trying to watch a blockbuster movie on a black-and-white TV. Sure, it works, but it's not quite cutting it anymore. The problem? The usual time-based billing doesn't always sync up with what clients really want – measurable results and bang for their buck. Remember, we are talking to a CMO, whose role has expanded and now includes the word ‘Growth’.</p><p class="p3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">The advantage of value-based compensation model is that it is all about shaking hands on goals that matter, tying the agency's success to the client's victories, and turning the ad game into a win-win scenario.</p><p class="p3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">Here are some thoughts on how to make this model actionable.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8ykFYLcigKXD50o8wk0fqNJen9utvBHSkTUKVFjBZ5j_FmvJe6gqb8lLFeT7oTmKoToPWWyP8Au2mmMpUmLgTHdu9N2IIKza32gsp7dYUECkDi-4Wa_is6QljEc6EpvaEnSEBnSYl9iIb9Ea1oK4_AiMKTICZZm1Bj8hVQ-sJFfMlg-5Hl2HFg/s720/Slide1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8ykFYLcigKXD50o8wk0fqNJen9utvBHSkTUKVFjBZ5j_FmvJe6gqb8lLFeT7oTmKoToPWWyP8Au2mmMpUmLgTHdu9N2IIKza32gsp7dYUECkDi-4Wa_is6QljEc6EpvaEnSEBnSYl9iIb9Ea1oK4_AiMKTICZZm1Bj8hVQ-sJFfMlg-5Hl2HFg/s320/Slide1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Client-Centric Value Metrics:</b></li></ul><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Think of it like this: if the client's goal is to sell more widgets, let's measure success by how many widgets are flying off the shelves. Simple, right? If it is about awareness, the number of people we are reaching and the impact that is seen through brand studies.</p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Collaborative Goal Setting:</b></li></ul><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's like planning a road trip together. Set those goals as a team. No surprises, just a clear map to the destination. It is not just a pow-wow between the respective management honchos, but the entire team from marketing, sales, finance, creative, strategy, servicing… the entire village. Everyone should know that they have a skin in the game</p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Performance-Based Compensation:</b></li></ul><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here's the fun part – the more successful the campaign, the more the agency pockets. It's like a ++bonus for a job well done.</p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Transparency and Communication:</b></li></ul><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Be an open book. Let the client peek behind the curtain. Explain how fees work and show them the direct link between their investment and the magic happening.</p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Technology Integration:</b></li></ul><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Think of it as having a superhero sidekick. Tech tools help track and measure success in real-time. No more waiting for the monthly report – it's all there on the dashboard. Project Management, reports, collaborative tools, all will help in track, record, and speed the GTM process.</p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Continuous Improvement:</b></li></ul><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's like upgrading your favourite app. Regularly check and upgrade the game plan. Stay nimble, stay ahead.</p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Risk Mitigation Strategies:</b></li></ul><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Every good story has a plot twist. Be ready for it. Develop plans for when things get a bit bumpy, so the story still ends with a happy client.</p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Client Education:</b></li></ul><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's time for a bit of show-and-tell. Share success stories, showcase how other clients hit the jackpot with this approach. Make them see that it's not just a new strategy – it's a game-changer.</p><p class="p6" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p class="p7" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">TBH, there are a few examples of clients giving ‘bonus’ to agencies based on metrics, that are both, quantitative and qualitative. But the revenue motivation is so minuscule that most agency folks are not bothered about it… until agency appraisal time(usually, year end).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p8" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So, there you have it – the tale of transitioning from the black-and-white era to technicolor in the ad world. Value-based compensation isn't just a strategy; it's the hero that saves the day. By aligning goals, keeping it real, and constantly fine-tuning the approach, agencies can turn their client relationships into blockbuster partnerships. It's not just business; it's the art of creating success stories together. Cheers to the new era!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-76361706067462791502023-12-09T09:44:00.000+05:302023-12-09T09:44:11.385+05:30Revolutionizing Advertising<p><b> <span style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">A Roadmap for Real-Time Personalization Campaigns Driven by AI and Data</span></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mvezhyF4ECZ1tnBroM-pNBsq3eKxhQ3pQ_9mBLXlHhReqPV2EYdXiKRQ6lVv-Gk9knqloIM89w0_tlCNAs60NxmA1Gqlp5MYagYv5d-7jHWWgg2iQ6yW4nZKLdd8fYHgcixFV0HnElSzRy953fZRk4vGNcLMNP5BnYxm8NyYH3GUfkfA71RG6A/s626/neon-background-with-neon-light-trails-ai-generated_547674-4025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="626" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mvezhyF4ECZ1tnBroM-pNBsq3eKxhQ3pQ_9mBLXlHhReqPV2EYdXiKRQ6lVv-Gk9knqloIM89w0_tlCNAs60NxmA1Gqlp5MYagYv5d-7jHWWgg2iQ6yW4nZKLdd8fYHgcixFV0HnElSzRy953fZRk4vGNcLMNP5BnYxm8NyYH3GUfkfA71RG6A/s320/neon-background-with-neon-light-trails-ai-generated_547674-4025.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Introduction:</b><p></p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing and advertising, the convergence of technology, data, and AI is reshaping the industry. A paradigm shift towards personalization and real-time experiences has become the new norm. In a recent McKinsey report on personalization at scale (<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/a-technology-blueprint-for-personalization-at-scale"><span class="s1">https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/a-technology-blueprint-for-personalization-at-scale</span></a>), four key pillars were identified: Data, Decisioning, Design, and Delivery. While Data, Decisioning, and Delivery have seen significant advancements where big technology and consulting players - Adobe, Salesforce, Google, to name a few, are making great strides, the Design aspect remains a manual and resource-intensive process. This presents a unique opportunity for creative advertising agencies to revolutionize the industry.</p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b>The Untapped Opportunity:</b></p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">The untapped opportunity lies in addressing the Design pillar of personalization at scale. By leveraging data, technology, and various elements of content, agencies can go beyond mere content creation and deliver bespoke, real-time, and highly relevant communications. The potential lies in partnering with service providers offering the other three pillars (Data, Decisioning, Distribution) to offer comprehensive solutions to brands and marketers</p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b>Objective:</b></p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">The primary objective is to create the most relevant communication on a real-time basis, enhancing customer engagement and brand impact.</p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b>The Solution:</b></p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">A robust communication and advertising design platform, akin to canva.com but with a focus on real-time personalization, serves as the solution. This platform operates as a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, housing various advertising elements. The backend of the platform is intricately synced with Decisioning and Delivery platforms to analyze, sort, create, and publish highly relevant communications for clients.</p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">Elements of an Advertisement Piece:</p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li2" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First Party Elements:</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li2" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Brand Elements: Logo, Images (product, brand ambassador), colour, fonts, patterns, etc.</li><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Proposition: Campaign proposition, tagline, main message, etc.</li><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Cohorts in own DMP</li></ul><li class="li2" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Second Party Elements:</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Customer Segment</li><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Offers</li><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>User-Initiated Actions</li></ul><li class="li2" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Third Party Elements:</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>External Variables: Inclusion of location, time of day, weather, etc.</li><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Media Requirements: Format, channel, size, tags, etc.</li></ul></ul><p class="p4" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">Combining the above elements with the overall brand narrative results in a compelling and highly relevant communication piece.</p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;">The 4 Phases for Real-Time Design Solution:</p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li2" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sorting:</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Analyze and categorize available elements based on relevance and effectiveness.</li></ul><li class="li2" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Creating:</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Utilize the DAM platform to dynamically generate personalized content by combining relevant elements.</li></ul><li class="li2" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Adaptating:</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ensure flexibility to adapt the content based on real-time data, ensuring continuous relevance.</li></ul><li class="li2" style="color: #0e121d; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Publishing:</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Seamlessly integrate with Delivery platforms for the timely and targeted distribution of personalized content.</li></ul></ul><p class="p4" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><b>End note:</b></p><p class="p3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As the advertising landscape continues to shift towards personalization and real-time experiences, creative agencies have a golden opportunity to lead the charge. By focusing on the Design pillar and building a comprehensive real-time communication platform, agencies can not only enhance their value proposition but also redefine the future of personalized advertising. This strategic approach positions agencies as indispensable partners in the dynamic and ever-evolving realm of digital marketing.</p><p class="p5" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="color: #2a3140; font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ping me and happy to discuss this further with you.</p>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-87551167535713254212023-12-02T12:15:00.002+05:302023-12-02T12:15:51.210+05:30Navigating the Shadows: A Guide to Steering Clear of Dark Patterns in UX Design<p><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="-apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-size: var(--font-size-large);"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjpocL7ZqDVyl2PETQ_zXjDlj3qo-paGy2hfIhPUPqm7Bn8aENGi3uAKVKnfC4OHyqHy8jmfjB5Sb53Q1WIFe0dJUt_bv-HmnNquRzOK7gNoC-RnTVSVq5iQ_cjM6OzxPIzogiYreIcpr2b1XyJhc1RWzmeEs1W3Xg_o2w6s3xJvFfntoTWPDuw/s3200/IMG_0334.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1700" data-original-width="3200" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjpocL7ZqDVyl2PETQ_zXjDlj3qo-paGy2hfIhPUPqm7Bn8aENGi3uAKVKnfC4OHyqHy8jmfjB5Sb53Q1WIFe0dJUt_bv-HmnNquRzOK7gNoC-RnTVSVq5iQ_cjM6OzxPIzogiYreIcpr2b1XyJhc1RWzmeEs1W3Xg_o2w6s3xJvFfntoTWPDuw/s320/IMG_0334.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br />As per a new government policy, the use of “dark patterns” has been banned in E-commerce sales.<span class="white-space-pre" color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="-apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre !important;"> </span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="-apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); font-style: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-style-italic); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">‘Under the Consumer Protection Act, offenders can face fines and penal action from the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) and can also be tried in the consumer commissions.’</span><p></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2113" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><a class="app-aware-link" data-test-app-aware-link="" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/centre-bans-e-commerce-firms-from-using-dark-patterns-for-sales/articleshow/105665320.cms?from=mdr" style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-link-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); text-decoration: var(--artdeco-reset-link-text-decoration-none); touch-action: manipulation; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);" target="_self">https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/centre-bans-e-commerce-firms-from-using-dark-patterns-for-sales/articleshow/105665320.cms?from=mdr</a></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2114" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><b>What are Dark Patterns in E-commerce?</b></span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2115" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">In the vast landscape of user experience (UX) design, where the aim is to create seamless and enjoyable interactions, there exists a darker side that often goes unnoticed—the realm of dark patterns. Imagine taking a stroll through a digital interface only to find yourself ensnared in a web of deceitful tactics, subtly guiding <span style="font-size: var(--font-size-large);">you towards actions that may not be in your best interest. In the world of dark patterns, user manipulation takes centre stage.</span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2116" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><b>Understanding the Shadows</b></span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2117" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Dark patterns are essentially crafty techniques employed by designers to deceive users into making decisions that primarily benefit the company behind the interface. These underhanded methods range from confirmshaming and fake urgency to the more insidious bait and switch, where promises made are promptly swapped for something less appealing.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2118" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Have you ever encountered a website that guilt-tripped you into signing up for a newsletter with a button that said 'No, I don't like saving money'? That's confirmshaming at play, an example of how designers use psychology to nudge users in a particular direction. Other dark patterns include disguised ads, intentional misdirection, and friend spam, each exploiting human psychology to drive profits.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2119" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><b>The Price of Deception</b></span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2120" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">While these dark patterns may temporarily boost a company's bottom line, the long-term consequences can be detrimental. User trust, a fragile commodity in the digital age, is easily shattered when individuals feel manipulated. Engagement levels plummet, and the very users a company sought to retain slip away, their departure fueled by a sense of betrayal.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2121" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><b>Illuminating the Path to Ethical Design</b></span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2122" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">So, how do we navigate through this murky territory and ensure that our digital experiences remain untarnished by dark patterns? The key lies in prioritizing transparency, user control, and ethical design practices.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2123" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Start by embracing transparency in your design. Clearly communicate the consequences of actions, avoiding vague language that can be misconstrued. If a button leads to a subscription, be forthright about it. Users appreciate honesty, and it fosters trust in the long run.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2124" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Empower users with control over their journey. Allow them to easily opt-in or out of features, subscriptions, or notifications. Nothing frustrates users more than feeling trapped with no way out. Providing clear choices enhances the user experience and, in turn, builds loyalty.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2125" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Adopt ethical design practices as a guiding principle. Rather than seeking short-term gains through manipulative tactics, focus on crafting experiences that genuinely benefit the user. Prioritize usability, accessibility, and user satisfaction, laying the foundation for a positive and lasting relationship between the user and the interface.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2126" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><b>Shedding Light on the Shadows</b></span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2127" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Dark patterns may offer a tempting shortcut to immediate gains, but their toll on user trust and engagement is undeniable. As guardians of the digital realm, designers have the responsibility to champion transparency, user control, and ethical design practices. By choosing the path of integrity, we not only create better user experiences but also contribute to a digital landscape built on trust, respect, and enduring customer loyalty. Let's navigate away from the shadows and into the light of ethical design.</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2128" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Reach out to me to know more about this, that, and other things marketing.<span class="white-space-pre" style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre !important;"> </span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember2128" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span class="white-space-pre" style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre !important;">(Image source Tech Crunch) </span></p>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-75654292591495691162022-03-29T11:13:00.001+05:302022-03-29T11:13:24.843+05:30Teach Marketing, Yoda Can<div style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 3.2rem; margin: 3.2rem 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvb7nHzRrswwVpjSnbIu78-MSNpQEJK8cRL1yqnHe9709l-TMx6DA9Vek9dv9xs4hQoowZA06AfVz54nl2REIFQL3sp_Gs51LgJ5NXASXOD7vjBmTDvMFUoQzxORWodbRn7DGXf1RUJXx-KdKvy8uBfR1_2h99rmeEVaZIZ0uiRUzLXTI8Gh0/s1219/star-wars-yoda.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="1219" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvb7nHzRrswwVpjSnbIu78-MSNpQEJK8cRL1yqnHe9709l-TMx6DA9Vek9dv9xs4hQoowZA06AfVz54nl2REIFQL3sp_Gs51LgJ5NXASXOD7vjBmTDvMFUoQzxORWodbRn7DGXf1RUJXx-KdKvy8uBfR1_2h99rmeEVaZIZ0uiRUzLXTI8Gh0/w499-h212/star-wars-yoda.jpeg" width="499" /></a></div></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: var(--font-size-large);">About 8 years back, I wrote an analogical article about Kung Fu Panda and digital marketing (you can read it </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140525034502-8862386-kung-fu-panda-teaches-digital-marketing/" style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-link-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: helvetica; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); touch-action: manipulation; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: var(--font-size-large);"> ). That time my kid was 3 years. Now my kid is 11 years old. As all growing kids do, he too has out-grown the Kung Fu Panda-The Lion King phase. His current fascination is The Star Wars. I guess, by now, he must have finished watching at-least 3-4 times….The Star Wars Saga - the original, sequel, and prequel trilogies, animated series, The book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, and even the Thrawn trilogy books. The next on his wish list is to own an original lightsaber… Kids are demanding!</span></div><div style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 3.2rem; margin: 3.2rem 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Well, this article is not about my kid or his love for Star Wars. Working from home and watching these movies along with my kid, this is about my thoughts on what Star Wars can teach us about marketing, or more importantly what marketing tips Yoda can teach<br /></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“Do or do not. There is no try.” </b><span style="font-weight: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-weight-bold);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We all know that planning is very important when it comes to any campaign/project. But every great plan must be followed by great execution and that is where the success lies. Don’t just ‘try’ to implement a great plan, when you do it, do it right and with full commitment, else don’t.<br /></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“Patience you must have”</b><span style="font-weight: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-weight-bold);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Every marketing campaign should have a strategic objective in mind. You cannot keep implementing marketing for quick fixes. Many digital marketers are given goals such as - increase organic traffic by ‘x’ percentage and when content marketing or SEO plans are implemented, everyone expects results overnight. It doesn’t work that way.<br /></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“You must unlearn what you have learned”</b><span style="font-weight: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-weight-bold);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Personally, I’ve experienced this every year. Couple of times, each year, there is some technology impact or customer behaviour changes that gives you opportunities to tweak your campaign strategies or execution. As a marketer, one should be open to ideas and not fixed on certain views<br /></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“Size matters not”</b><span style="font-weight: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-weight-bold);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In digital marketing, especially in programmatic and data-driven marketing, the budget (size) does not matter. It is all about relevancy - how you segment and target your audience. <br /></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“Always pass on what you have learned.” </b><span style="font-weight: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-weight-bold);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Marketing thrives on fresh ideas. One way ideas get generated is when knowledge is shared. The more you share, the more you learn. Like in the technology field, it is the community sharing that drives growth and innovation. Marketing folks should embrace it.<br /></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“You will find only what you bring in.”</b><span style="font-weight: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-weight-bold);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">“Garbage in-Garbage out.” From a process management or data management, we keep hearing this. The kind of data that you collate and analyse; the kind of marketing campaign plans you make; the kind of insights and propositions you get… it will all depend on the inputs (research and data points) that you looked for.<br /></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“Smaller in number are we, but larger in mind.” </b><span style="font-weight: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-weight-bold);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Every advertising campaign should have the objective of gaining larger mind space. Effective campaigns would be about getting a larger mind space of your customers with smaller spends.<br /></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.975em; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>There are couple of other interesting quotes by other characters which is insightful from marketing point of view..</i><span style="font-style: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-style-italic);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view.” - Obi-Wan Kenobi</b><span style="font-weight: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-weight-bold);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We all have our biases. Basis the same, we look at the data and conclude our hypothesis. This also impacts when we build technology solutions. It is necessary that we consciously address this bias and keep working on it, even when we think about empathy (as in design thinking)<br /></span><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>“The ability to speak does not make you intelligent.” - Qui-Gon Jinn</b><span style="font-weight: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-weight-bold);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For brands active on social media, this is appropriate. Just because there is a platform, you don’t need to keep posting always. You can be purpose-driven, but have the purpose clearly defined.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I’m sure there are a lot more quotes from The Star Wars series that will relate to what we do and experience as marketers or brand managers. What’s your favourite Star Wars quote that you relate your work to? Would love to hear from you.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Till then, to all you Marketing Jedis, <span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><span style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.975em; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><i><b>Meta Verse be with you.</b></i></span></span></span></div>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-64335649430057318152021-07-25T10:38:00.000+05:302021-07-25T10:38:18.645+05:30Fundamentals of Branding by Aristotle<span style="font-family: helvetica;">I’ve this habit of re-reading books - classics in fiction/novels, etc; or books on fundamentals when it comes to business/marketing/management. The wonderful thing about re-reading such ‘classics’ are that you will unearth something new or you’ll start looking at the known things in a different perspective, because the context might have changed since the last time you read. One of the recent books I revisited was the JWT Planning Cycle Fundamentals (?) By Stephen King - The 70’s printed bible for all strategists and planners in advertising & communication agencies.<br /><br />While the Stephen King book would have laid the fundamentals of modern day planning when it comes to branding, I think the seed for this thought was sown around 4th century B.C by the great Greek philosopher, Aristotle. I came to know about the similarities while reading a <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/07/the-art-of-persuasion-hasnt-changed-in-2000-years">Harvard Business Review article </a>on Aristotle and the art of persuasion. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8ewGMp5CycLskb1Qww5tgQmyCY7tnukmXNrIat_9VaIIsXY2wI-O-erGhrIfsZ9ODhzsoN_yBb1Gz3oxurUHHyjHoZd84qGg2gXH59AkPmxfuclNMCEo0xi_IKboiKLjchP6sQ/s615/Aristotle+-Cambridgeblog.png"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8ewGMp5CycLskb1Qww5tgQmyCY7tnukmXNrIat_9VaIIsXY2wI-O-erGhrIfsZ9ODhzsoN_yBb1Gz3oxurUHHyjHoZd84qGg2gXH59AkPmxfuclNMCEo0xi_IKboiKLjchP6sQ/s320/Aristotle+-Cambridgeblog.png" /></a><br />In his treatise, Rhetoric, Aristotle, goes on to give an overview and then develops the basics of a system for rhetoric. Maybe the reason for his treatise could be to help people in oration or maybe in development of theatre that the ancient Greeks are famous for. The principles that Aristotle mentioned are still used and considered as touchstone in the art of persuasion.<br /><br /><br /><br />So, how does the 2000 year old principles on oration/theatre find relevance in the world of branding? <br /><br />According to Stephen King, brands, and thus branding, need to appeal to :<br /><br />The physical sense: How the brand looks, smells, tastes, feels, sounds, (the product and the packaging)<br /><br />The rational: What the brand does, how it performs, what it contains, what is it used for<br /><br />The emotional: What moods it evokes or satisfies, the psychological rewards for using it, what its associations are.<br /><br />All these combines together in various ways at various degrees and thus create a brand - a unique blend of appeals. (Extracted from Stephen King’s book). Thus branding is an activity that harnesses these appeals and is put forward to a specific set of audience whom we call as ‘market segment’.<br /><br />Aristotle in his book focuses on 3 means of persuasion - Ethos, Logos, and Pathos<br /><br />Ethos speaks about the “Character” of the person. In branding terms we can equate it to the physical attributes of the brand.<br /><br />Logos is all about “Reason” and making a logical appeal to the audience. This is very similar to the rational appeal the brand needs to address when speaking to their market segment.<br /><br />Lastly, Aristotle says that without Pathos, absence of “Emotion”, the persuasion cannot be effective. People are moved by what and how they feel. That is why effective public speakers spend a lot of the speaking time on telling ‘stories’. Exactly, what a brand needs to evoke and do.<br /><br />According to the article, the amount of time public speakers (in TEDx Talks) spend on focussing on Pathos, Logos, and Ethos - 65% of their time went into stories (Pathos), 25% on Logos and 10% on Ethos. It will be a good exercise to conduct on branding activities too, in terms of weightage on the 3 appeals.<br /><br />On a final note, there are a lot of definitions for branding - activities building perceived image of the product or services, share of mind, sum of conversations that people have about your product/services, etc……But the substratum of any branding is Effective Persuasion<br /><br />(As an aside, the current book I’m re-reading is, The Elements of Style’ by Strunk and White - Another ‘classic’ from 70’s… May find lots of similarities to another part of Rhetoric by Aristotle that talks about using Metaphors and Brevity :))</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-30355438688889545202021-05-01T13:08:00.004+05:302021-05-01T13:08:30.336+05:30Data & Faustian Behaviour<p><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r9amcM2a1yx50G0U0Qc4qQU30ZVxhJ_v4ZGaSBbbzipGP8xyz0lBT2PlDfKV3kjJtA09dhJ5ekI8O5O38yhKOiQJ7iSZ2lzPUNBbFssRvVntLVOK_HyU_YK7Kv5scMm5xDQ1QQ/s624/faustian_data.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0r9amcM2a1yx50G0U0Qc4qQU30ZVxhJ_v4ZGaSBbbzipGP8xyz0lBT2PlDfKV3kjJtA09dhJ5ekI8O5O38yhKOiQJ7iSZ2lzPUNBbFssRvVntLVOK_HyU_YK7Kv5scMm5xDQ1QQ/s320/faustian_data.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I’ll never get tired of saying this - writing is tough but getting into the mood to write is tougher, and <span class="s1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">what</span><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> to write is toughest. Today, after a long time, I’ve decided to address the tough, tougher, and toughest.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I’ve been working on a lot of data related stuff the past few months. I can safely assume basis the data analysis, that Mr. X from Company A is interested in Product/Solution M & N. Also, looking at the frequency, recency, and additional time spent on the website, I think Mr. X from Company A is looking to buy this or similar solution at the earliest. Superimpose this data with data from other sources, I can closely guess his potential budget, the competitors he is reviewing, etc.</p><p class="p2" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This made me wonder, why do people like Mr. X (and I too) leave our digital footprint around, some times unknowingly but mostly knowingly.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I keep coming across tons of articles about data privacy and how easily we share personal data or how easily there is inter-portability of personal data (social plug-ins, autofill/ save passwords on devices, etc). In fact, for downloading many articles and reports, I shared my details without any/much thoughts. I began to wonder, why does even an ‘evolved’ digital marketing professional like me, keep sharing my personal data around, without second thoughts on how the data I shared will be used in the future.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Neither will I get into the rights and wrongs about data privacy, nor the merits and de-merits of solutions to tackle it. My thought is about why do we do it and what has got us into this habit loop? In search of meaning, I saw a lot of similarity between the answer I was seeking and the play - Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.</p><p class="p2" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The storyline goes as such, Dr. Faustus makes a pact with the devil for unlimited knowledge and world pleasures, along with services of Mephistopheles for 24 years in exchange for his soul.</p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">With this incredible power, Dr. Faustus goes travelling and performing feats. During the 24 years period, many times he had second thoughts, but the Devil would convince him by bestowing more riches. In the end, he knew, he was condemned for eternity in Hell, but did not have any escape.</p><p class="p2" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Many of our dealings in the digital space are faustian bargains. Marketers and digital companies do not ask us for our souls, but information - who we are, where we are, what we are doing, what we want, etc. We give out our details (in form of data) for more knowledge (newsletters, download white papers, reports, etc), pleasure (login to a game with social IDs, emails), convenience (places of interest near me, what to buy, what to watch), or even chance of riches (submit your details and a chance to win kind of sweepstakes).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Even in case one would want to come out - there is the fear or greed of missing out something bigger and better.</p><p class="p2" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Couple of human truths are - Our brains don’t like to exert themselves and our brains are wired for scarcity. This leads to couple of common human behaviours - Laziness and Greed. And when it comes to taking our personal information, marketers mostly play on these 2 behaviours… Example: It is like a Newsletter subscription message conveying, <i>Hey! Give me your email address and let us know what you like and I shall send you exclusive and relevant newsletter every week.</i></p><p class="p2" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><i></i><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Thus, each time, there is a cue of either information, greed, or convenience, we get into the routine of sharing our personal information and get the reward of satiating our need/desire.</i></p><p class="p2" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><i></i><br /></p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>The only way to break the routine is to work on our mental laziness and greed</i></p><p class="p1" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Next time we see anything where we need to be sharing our personal information, remember, it also is saying,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>‘Homo, fuge!’</p>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-63220406036249444832021-01-29T11:21:00.004+05:302021-01-29T11:21:52.878+05:30 Things I learned during the lockdown <p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFt6wlOVqmEAN2UPBky_RBVJJHfnDkX0WQ7RbJ7ApoGJeZVy8x7RttVff4TIL4Jt0kC8X7AL-nFYrqH48FUWr-FUlK1wmxvEhWJcsvVI8ukHg_OvD4pS8jmxG2vvNHMJzaWiJEg/s900/work_from_home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFt6wlOVqmEAN2UPBky_RBVJJHfnDkX0WQ7RbJ7ApoGJeZVy8x7RttVff4TIL4Jt0kC8X7AL-nFYrqH48FUWr-FUlK1wmxvEhWJcsvVI8ukHg_OvD4pS8jmxG2vvNHMJzaWiJEg/w400-h200/work_from_home.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Well, everyone has their own experience and realisations during the 2020 lockdown. I have mine too. They are basic stuff. Hopefully they are useful too.<p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p><ol class="ol1"><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Your hair does not grow as fast or as bad as you think</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There is more your home needs than what you want</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Your kids are way smarter than you think</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There is more junk in your house than you realise</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Washing hands frequently is actually a good habit - pandemic or not</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Don’t overwater your plants</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">You can live without your morning newspaper</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">It takes 3 months to build a routine</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Don’t let the kitchen sink pile up</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The songs in your iPod/tapes/CDs/LPs are far better than the songs in any streaming playlist. </li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">You needn’t stop smiling just because you are wearing a mask.</li><li class="li1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Life still goes on</li></ol><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Cheers!</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Santosh</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-85470914332961140202020-12-10T15:12:00.001+05:302020-12-10T15:12:34.309+05:30The rise of employee branding (& Internal marketing)<p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0PR2oyPltbxcqr8Te50UpzhJiE_ZAuHTqkpm7FRfBfNy1LKhmIv_RrPRCOxbGEZD86fkD6tJmqTdf65cI91PEYV7ZMScW2YtyhG9U1K9vNJpJoPZGtx0KBInzITjqOUg0aATvw/s700/Internal+Branding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0PR2oyPltbxcqr8Te50UpzhJiE_ZAuHTqkpm7FRfBfNy1LKhmIv_RrPRCOxbGEZD86fkD6tJmqTdf65cI91PEYV7ZMScW2YtyhG9U1K9vNJpJoPZGtx0KBInzITjqOUg0aATvw/s320/Internal+Branding.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Few months back during the pandemic lockdown, a new colleague joined us. The entire on-boarding and introduction happened online. In fact, even today the regular interactions are happening virtually. The more I keep thinking about this new way of working, the more I’m convinced about the importance of internal marketing & employee branding. The stuff neither the marketing folks at client side and the agency folks are least interested in.<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px;"> </span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;">The future of work will change due to Covid19 pandemic. Whilst many offices may go back to normal way of working, many others will shift towards a new way of working. Some will still continue to work remotely (Home), some will go back to working from office, while practicing social distancing (work bubbles)… In short, EX (<b>Employee Experience</b>) will no longer be about close proximity working, but rather about <b>Distributed Working</b>.<b></b></p><p class="p3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><b></b><br /></p><p class="p4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Traditionally, employee branding involved lot of high touch activities.<b> Being in the office physically, exposure to Internal signages/messages, meeting colleagues, training programs, parties/events, give-aways, </b>and the once-in-a-while emailers and newsletters.</p><p class="p3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><b></b><br /></p><p class="p4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>In the new way of working, </b>the act of physically meeting and interacting will reduce, the symbolic ‘under-the-same-roof’ will not be prevalent, the employee engagement too will see a dip. In fact, many real world ‘symbols’ of identity that an employee experiences in their daily work life will disappear. In this scenario, the need for virtual communication and engagement becomes important.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-w9Iz8xoS202mKH3WmGMVUeQkW9ZOux4PCBiOuuBu5C22gmEA0HtM5tEZIDMaGOpjxXEJcwtKfcZnXFTUBaU5eHQrvC11kdhwAcD4jcVNxzgxCAoGkCf55E9qe7oMYa5TzeL87g/s937/PLM-marketing-channels-min.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="937" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-w9Iz8xoS202mKH3WmGMVUeQkW9ZOux4PCBiOuuBu5C22gmEA0HtM5tEZIDMaGOpjxXEJcwtKfcZnXFTUBaU5eHQrvC11kdhwAcD4jcVNxzgxCAoGkCf55E9qe7oMYa5TzeL87g/s320/PLM-marketing-channels-min.png" width="320" /></a></i></div><i>So how can companies keep the employee behaviour aligned with company goals/vision & culture?</i><p></p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span><b>Online Branding</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Email Signature</li><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Virtual Backgrounds with Company logo/branding for Video/collab tools</li></ul></ul><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span><b>Communicating shared goals/vision</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Newsletters</li><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Using Intranet/Chat rooms</li><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Digital Hangouts/Weekly Townhalls</li></ul></ul><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>I<b>nter-personnel interactions</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Virtual buddies/Dream 11 teams</li><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Online games</li></ul></ul><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span><b>Physical</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Office merchandise that employees can use and is in front of them regularly - Notepads, pens, Coffee Mugs, Water bottles, T-shirts, Laptop skins, etc.,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></li></ul></ul><ul class="ul1"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span><b>Shareable content</b></li><ul class="ul1" style="list-style-type: disc;"><li class="li4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 16.8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Most employees are active on social media. Give them exclusive content that they can share in their social networks (branded GIFs, Infographics, E-cards, etc)</li></ul></ul><p class="p3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">These are few of the thoughts on how you can get employees engage with the company initiatives and build love for the brand. This helps in also aligning each other to shared vision and objectives, motive them to work together, loyalty towards the organisation and also spread the company brand and message</p><p class="p3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Happy employees means happy customers; happy customers means happy shareholders; happy shareholders means happy management</p><p class="p3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p class="p4" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So what’s happ(y)ening in your company with regard to employee branding?</p>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-34053804719477069642020-12-03T14:06:00.000+05:302020-12-03T14:06:10.227+05:30The Digital Echo<p><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzzqWqx_uBvv6ePtaPlEfUa3BZdWvr1MUjLnWRNHTAtdwJlPp8utK00q4_mZheudO4r2_tAaKlp3xAF5JyH_xvQIlinMV4ClrjxoxS0Tcq27HIx_djuFZm5S16T2Un56p4EQKQw/s482/FilterBubble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzzqWqx_uBvv6ePtaPlEfUa3BZdWvr1MUjLnWRNHTAtdwJlPp8utK00q4_mZheudO4r2_tAaKlp3xAF5JyH_xvQIlinMV4ClrjxoxS0Tcq27HIx_djuFZm5S16T2Un56p4EQKQw/s320/FilterBubble.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Internet, they said, was an ocean (or cloud) of knowledge. The Net was invented for free and smooth transfer of information, thoughts and ideas. But somewhere along the way came algorithms, data collection, & AI and now we are being served information conforming to our likes, interests and digital behaviours. The more we use the Net, instead of swimming in an ocean of knowledge, we sit inside an echo chamber confirming our own biases.<p></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Let’s take the 3 common use cases we engage on the Net - reading news, social media, and search (for information) engine</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Discovery of news on the Net happens mostly through aggregator platforms like Google News or through the home pages of the news portals. Apart from the top/latest News, have you ever noticed sections that mention - News for you, top picks, etc? These are News articles that is shown to you basis the past content that you’ve consumed.</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ah! Social Media, the favourite waste of time for most of the digital natives. We spends hours chatting with friends, liking, sharing, commenting and also putting out the most inane stuff of our lives for everyone to see. Did you ever notice that you get to see more and more posts and updates of users whose posts or tweets you engaged with? The lesser you engage with a friend’s update, the lesser you’ll see him/her. The more you interact with a specific brand, the more you’ll get to see about them.</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Did you know that your search results will be different from mine even though we might have search using the exact keywords/phrases? Yes! It is true. Try it out with couple of other folks. Your search results depend on lots of factors like - devices, location, browser,….and most importantly, <i>your personal search history. </i>(SEO folks, please note)</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><i></i><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGOS6UKBZQh4zoaJUzwJUx18M1tE5uyv_QTEpyyxSNUnHdzpLO75Y1VMAXP8-LQBY4SgRRHLAjhi_L5den1eaq4SQe2yeGSWoy4S_7kBGlrLMqyL_uHIV7ZcSJYktokHNFcbMyQ/s1200/Echo-Chamber-Digital.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGOS6UKBZQh4zoaJUzwJUx18M1tE5uyv_QTEpyyxSNUnHdzpLO75Y1VMAXP8-LQBY4SgRRHLAjhi_L5den1eaq4SQe2yeGSWoy4S_7kBGlrLMqyL_uHIV7ZcSJYktokHNFcbMyQ/s320/Echo-Chamber-Digital.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><i><br />In all the above use cases, the algorithms and AI are in play. This means our view of the world is based on what we have done in the past (Karma catching up, perhaps) online.</i><p></p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So what does it mean for marketers and brands,</p><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><ul class="ul1"><li class="li3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s2" style="background-color: white;">In case of content marketing, always lede with content that is in the area of interest of your target audience</span></li><li class="li3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s2" style="background-color: white;">In case of advertising, depending on the objective (awareness/engagement/sales), make sure to target the audience is are different / similar to your existing audience set</span></li><li class="li3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s2" style="background-color: white;">In case of Search marketing (SEO), make sure that you do proper research on what your user searches for. Check the search rankings basis their search behaviour, not yours</span></li></ul><p class="p2" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The digital consumers keep experiencing bandwagon fallacy. The objective of any brand is to get onto that consumer’s bandwagon<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">pic sources: Wikipedia and Voxpol.eu</span></p>mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-5567359304851823662020-07-09T20:13:00.000+05:302020-07-09T20:13:07.952+05:30On Social Media Advertising and #StopHateForProfit campaign<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxK5WdGovzJcsdpGOLKwDZkfPG5pExeJ3pF0ppeM263RBn7eU1Q2zdbOb4AmFIPuAPkznR5dFUYUpIDCHLY819NiLjERRcFkbURxe04cZNZvJD7c8CapURSHZxLVx5ndLlfAkTA/s1600/stop-hate-for-profit-Source+Rappler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxK5WdGovzJcsdpGOLKwDZkfPG5pExeJ3pF0ppeM263RBn7eU1Q2zdbOb4AmFIPuAPkznR5dFUYUpIDCHLY819NiLjERRcFkbURxe04cZNZvJD7c8CapURSHZxLVx5ndLlfAkTA/s1600/stop-hate-for-profit-Source+Rappler.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">source: rappler.com</td></tr>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Many brands are joining the ‘Stop Hate for Profit’ campaign, against advertising on Facebook, until the social media platform does something substantial to stop the spread of hate speeches, racial abuse, and fake news. As of last count there were more than <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1VSGhDwXm18yFf2BVCz0QJYFjCHrPhDuO-m5rCo0zoqI/htmlview?pru=AAABczP3U0c*hKv1TBQhH6k7W0S3Q7-uaw"><span class="s2" style="color: #5344c5; font-kerning: none; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">1000 marketers</span></a> who signed up for the boycott, including news-worthy brands like The North Face, Patagonia, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Starbucks, Microsoft, Unilever, Ford, etc. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">But, is there more to it apart from the hate speeches and racial abuses that brands are concerned about? </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Here are few of my thoughts:</span></div>
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<li class="li1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75); font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Perception Management</span></li>
<li class="li1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75); font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The (in)effectiveness of advertising on social media</span></li>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Firstly, I think the issue is similar to proverbial, shooting the messenger. Facebook is not the content creator. It is the users. Facebook is only a platform where different people voice different opinions. Yes, some of these opinions are false, decisive, and dangerous.. but that is something got to do with the person who posted the content; Facebook is not at fault unless they wilfully promote or endorse such content.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">If brands were really concerned about protecting their image… they should be even having checks and balances about who can use or consume their products. Also, brands work by exploiting people’s fears and aspirations. An insurance company typically works on fear, ‘What if something bad happens’; Or a sneaker company works by selling false hope riding on people’s aspiration of becoming some sort of a hero; Or a CPG company selling fairness/skin whitening cream by driving the fear, that if you are not fair enough, you’d be left behind.. Ok, on the last point, some brands are taking action…but hope you get the drift. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The deep rooted fears, biases, and opinions of people has always been there even before social media. Facebook (or any social media platform) is just a medium for them to express it. Asking the social media platform to take action is like imposing your own biases over others.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Secondly, Branding works on perception. When a groundswell is happening that impacts the markets, brands cannot be seen a passive spectator. In this hyperconnected world, brands need to seen as ‘someone like us’, who are emotional, purposeful, and ‘doing-their-bit’ for social good. The idea of boycotting Facebook is more symbolic than anything else, since the brands cannot directly take on and alienate their consumers whose opinion resonates with the content that is termed hateful/abusive. If brands were serious about curing this malice then they would look at attacking the cause, not the symptoms.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">With proper perception management, the word of mouth will spread amongst the woke folks on digital and some of them may even follow the brands on their social channels thus giving them positive mileage.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Thirdly, as brands pull back on marketing spends due to the impact of pandemic, they would look at stopping marketing tactics that has least impact on the brand. Many in the marketing world believe that the whole concept of digital advertising, especially, social media advertising, is hyped. To some extent this could be true.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Two popular ways the brands advertise their content on Facebook are as follows:</span></div>
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<li class="li1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75); font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Targeting the users basis there demographic/psychographic profile (ASL, hobbies, interests, etc)</span></li>
<li class="li1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s3" style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75); font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Re-targeting people who have visited their website (especially e-com) and reminding them to come back and complete their transactions</span></li>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">In the first instance, people will still get to know about the brand through other sources (offline and online) and other mediums of advertising, WOM, interest groups, forums, search, etc. In the second instance, many of them might anyway comeback to complete their transaction; with or without re-targeting ads.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Also social media advertising is contrary to the effective communications 101. We have learnt that in a communication framework there are 3 things, A sender, A medium, and A receiver. Social media is a place where the user is usually distracted, confused, emotional, etc.. basically, a place where lot of noise gets created. And if there is ‘noise’ in the medium then the communication gets distorted and is not effective. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Communication works best when there is a pattern and not noise. Maybe that is why advertisers still have faith in print, television, and other digital publications (including google, ad networks, etc) to reach out to their audience</span></div>
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mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-68954636189450165762020-04-20T12:15:00.000+05:302020-04-20T12:15:36.195+05:30The Future of Advertising Agency - 2020 & Beyond<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">These are interesting times. With the lockdown and impeding near-recession scenario, agencies will be faced with challenges in terms of both revenue growth and being prepared for the new norm in a changed world. As advertising agency business is closely linked to client’s business and since most companies will focus on business continuity, portfolio sustenance, and holding to their market position thus impacting marketing spends…it will not be business as usual at the agency end.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Some of the answers that agency leaders seek are -</span></div>
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<li><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Profit:</b> Where are the growth opportunities for agencies?</span></li>
<li><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b>People:</b> How do agencies retain/attract talent?</span></li>
<li><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Process:</b> Will there be any change in the way agencies work?</span></li>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Growth opportunities:</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Going by the popular catchphrase - follow the money, we know marketers have and are investing heavily into Martech & data in a big way. Their future marketing actions would be based on these investments. As a marketing and communication company, agencies have an opportunity to become data and Martech friendly partner of clients. Building, managing, and maintaining their Martech activities - Automation tools, CRM platforms, DMPs, etc could be some focus areas for agencies.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">As N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, says, “Digital distancing” will be the new norm. ‘Digital-led and contactless experience will play out in terms of customer experience’.. which inevitably means that consumer touch-point strategy & creativity needs to be digital-led.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The agencies will have 3 streams of workflow - The creative (the core), The Technologists, and the in-betweeners - whom I shall call <b>BX Enablers </b>(Enablers of Brand Experience)</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Attract and retain talent::</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Agencies with pressure on bottom lines will explore gig-workers, esp. subject matter experts (SMEs); With the whole cloud based collaboration, there will be more remote workers in the industry. I know a lot of people, especially women, who quit media/advertising industry as they found ‘work from office’ far more demanding. Now with WFH culture, these folks can happily contribute towards the agency work. Agency will also come with Flexi-time and partial work from home as means to retain talent.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Way we work</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Ad folks have been most lethargic when it came to using technology (apart from the core software and applications) Collab tools, Cloud drives, project management tool, conferencing tools, all were available.. but never used.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I used to hear stuff, like … I’m not in office and cannot edit the artwork (<i>creative</i>)</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Let’s block the afternoon for a strategy/creative briefing/brainstorming session (<i>creative/strategy/servicing</i>)</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">It is better if we go and meet the client at their office (<i>servicing</i>)</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">But hey! All these are still happening but remotely… and this is the biggest change that will happen in the way we work. We will have smaller teams working smarter and faster with real time iterations happening and enhancing the outcome.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We will become Agile. I think agile methodology and scrum teams will become common in the agencies. One will soon get to hear a lot ‘sprint’ used in agency vocabulary.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">They say, in the biggest challenge lies the biggest opportunity. Agencies thrive on delivery of effective ideas and creativity to their clients. Now is the time for agencies to internalise the delivery. Every global crisis in the past had lead to changes in the way we market and advertise. I remember in 2008, when the economy was not doing that good, big marketers and advertising agencies got on to the digital advertising bandwagon. I had seen traditional clients increasing their digital spends from under 3% to more than 10% of their advertising budgets. Earlier to that, in 2002-3 also, due to the SARS epidemic e-commerce got a big fillip, especially in China. I believe that 2019-20 too will be pivotal for advertising agencies - focus on MarTech, gig workers, and Agile methodology of working</span></div>
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mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-11337413421524914362020-03-22T10:50:00.001+05:302020-03-22T10:50:36.662+05:30The Work-From-Home Economy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I know that only a few of you will get to read this article. Taking a cue from the apocryphal Chinese saying, we are living in interesting times. It is really disturbing not being sure of how the future will be. With the virus out there and most people confined to basic travel and self-isolation, Work-from-Home might become the new norm. This article is future-gazing on the obvious and not so obvious impact, if working from home becomes common.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The obvious impact would be seen in the commuting sector. There will be lower demands for automobiles, cab hailing services like Uber & Ola, and affiliated categories like fuel. The demand for commercial real estate would also decrease, with more manpower for lesser commercial spaces. Remote working pods will increase.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Telecom - internet service providers would see increasing demand for data, smartphones and better computer devices that can be used for networking and collaboration would increase too. Telecom companies that offer collab services - Webex, Zoom, Skype, etc will see a spike in usage. Companies also into project management tools, security, cloud data storage too would soon follow.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Consumption of content through service providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Yulu, and other OTT platforms would increase. Subscription services to daily needs - grocery, snacks, CPG, through online would be on an upswing. Dining at home will be on rise.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">There are other not so obvious categories that will also be impacted. Since the reason to go out will decrease, use of cosmetics will reduce; and by spending more time at home, they will get interested in other house related items - furnishings, pet products (apart from pet foods), home gardening, spending on casual wear, sportswear including athleisure.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">People will start creating a work corner in the homes. A proper work table and chair being the most basic stuff. Spending more time at home will increase interest in home decor and improvement</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">While work-from-home is going to be economical for both the employees and the companies, it decreases the social interactions that happens in workplaces. To make one’s life more memorable and also to compensate for the decrease in social interactions, people will go on longer and exotic holidays, impacting tourism. Also, closer home, they will want to spend time attending events like - concerts, movies, etc.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Would love to read your thoughts on work-from-home economy too</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Cheers!</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Santosh</span></div>
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mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-24114450124596307712020-03-11T22:22:00.002+05:302020-03-11T22:22:29.978+05:30what makes an entrepreneur successful?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Recently, a friend of mine asked me, <i>what are the skill-sets required for becoming a successful entrepreneur?</i> Having walked in the entrepreneur/start-up journey for few years, I gave him some top-of-mind thoughts on what makes an entrepreneur successful.<span class="s1"></span></div>
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<span class="s1">However, the question stayed with me and I tried finding few common traits and reasons on what makes some folks successful. I got links to various articles where people wrote about<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1">passion, resourcefulness, willingness to listen, team work, inspiring leaders, etc. But is there something more than these common actions that these (successful) people have? Something basic but more powerful in shaping their success.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">As they teach in many management strategy lessons that there are 2 powerful forces that impacts any outcome - Internal (Strength/Weakness) and External (Opportunities/Threats); with this premise, I started my search for answers to understand the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes that shape up a successful entrepreneur</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Intrinsic:</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Ambition: </i></span>Entrepreneurship is a high-risk initiative. Entrepreneurs spend a lot of their time and resources along with lots of sacrifice to make things happen. People who have low to moderate risk appetite will generally avoid this path or will start traditional business. The ambition could either be driven by lower order motivation - <i>wealth creation</i>, or a higher order purpose - <i>societal impact, change the world, etc</i>. What ever be the motive, being ambitious is a crucial trait that drives entrepreneurs</div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Knowledge: </i></span>While I know of entrepreneurs who became successful without any knowledge of business they are entering into, most entrepreneurs do have the technical, process, or even marketing knowledge of the business their startup is entering. Most startup ideas stem for an unmet need or opportunity. Only people who are aware of that category of business will be able to grasp and find a solution for it. Else, they need to be intelligent enough to notice the opportunity from outside. That’s why most successful entrepreneur, would be folks whose academic qualifications are of reputed institutes like IIT or IIM….and these are intelligent folks. So, either knowledge gained out of experience or intelligence is what successful entrepreneur possesses</div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Personality: </i></span>Any startup founder, in either b2b or b2c space, spends most of their time doing the following activity</div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Business growth - meeting clients and potential partners</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Inspiring employees - keeping the morale high</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Seeking funds - meeting investors</span></div>
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<span class="s1">All the three activities need someone who is smart, attentive, communicative, pleasing, etc.. An entrepreneur having these traits is hugely advantageous. As some wise investor said, I don’t invest in ideas, I invest in people.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Extrinsic:</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Network: </i></span>While personality will enhance your ability to network, having a network in the first place will give an entrepreneur the edge over others who are working in the same space (remember, startup ideas are easily replicable and once the news goes out, there will be multiple startups in the same space offering similar solutions). A good network is crucial for meeting clients, potential partners/employees, investors, etc. Maybe that’s the reason why old-boys club like academic institutes alumni, where you studied, where you were brought up, etc plays a significant role to success.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Look around and you’ll see how many successful start-ups in India have founders from IIT/IIM background</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Market condition/opportunity: </i></span>I know of many people, myself including, who started out with a unique or great idea, but did not go far, or see the kind of success, because the market conditions were not right, or the opportunities dried up and the idea did not get the traction it deserved. The knack of having the ear on the future trends and then priming up the idea at the right time is crucial for being successful. As I sometimes say humorously, <i>When it comes to startups, there is usually a second-mover advantage </i>:).. Maybe that’s why Indiaplaza, rediff, Indiatimes shopping lost and Flipkart and Myntra succeeded in India</div>
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<span class="s1"><i>Culture: </i></span>Entrepreneurs who comes from a family or a community culture of being enterprising are very likely to succeed. Maybe, the culture hones their skills in risk taking ability, or help them identify business opportunities where it need is unarticulated. Since, one of the core motives for entrepreneur is wealth creation, identifying and taking a plunge to explore the opportunity is a knack that few can get. Across the globe, during different times, we can see examples of how culture plays a role in terms of the business opportunities - the Jews who started banks and advertising agencies in the USA, the Bansals and their like who founded the early tech/internet startups in India, etc</div>
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<span class="s1">I tried keeping my observations a bit broad and simple; I’m sure there will be many other traits that will define a successful entrepreneur. Let me know your thoughts on the ingredients for the secret sauce of success… I’d love to hear them</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Cheers!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Santosh</span></div>
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mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-5447463057995138572020-02-05T19:08:00.002+05:302020-02-05T19:11:33.498+05:30Brands in the time of social media backlash<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 2rem;">I</span>t's been a week since the Kunal Kamra-Arnab Goswami episode took place inside the Indigo flight. After Indigo airlines put out the No Fly ban on Kunal, complying to a tweet from the Minister of Aviation, there are a huge outcry about their decision on social media (Twitter). The strange part was, both the sides - users who were against the incident and for the incident were talking about not flying on Indigo. While the brand remained silent on their decision, it made me think, could the brand have done something different or handled it better. The thought also led to a larger question, when a brand takes a position, how can it defend itself, if there is an outcry or backlash on social media.</div>
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What (else) could Indigo have done differently?</div>
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Follow due process and procedure:</span> The best thing that Indigo team could have done is putting out a message stating that they will follow due process as laid down by the government and law of the land and in the interim they are enforcing the no fly ban for a said period of few days or weeks. No one wants to argue with the law of the land and after a few days or weeks the public is bound to lose interest and would have latched on to the next trending thing on social media</div>
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Stay true to their brand values:</span> Whenever a brand is in doubt, the best resort is stick to its core brand values. People love brands that stays true to themselves. In this instance, the brand could have gone ahead with the ban, but made it more about a brand statement than obliging to arbitrary request from the Minister. Example could be, we might be a low cost carrier, but we don't encourage cheap thrills in our flight, and hence the ban. The only downside is they should not have any precedent of any earlier instance when they did not stick to their brand value</div>
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Surprise the users!</span>: Users generally expect a specific reaction from a brand on such instances. The idea is to take a path that they would not have thought about and surprise them. Most people are unsure how to react when they encounter an unpredictable response. I've haven't given a thought on what to do - but maybe a good idea would be sending across a box of chocolates to Arnab for being a 'good boy' and a seat facing the wall panel reserved for Kunal for being a 'bad boy'. The social media command team usually have a process for online reputation/crisis management that has various scenarios - if this, then that; but lateral thinking can help come up with other responses that will diffuse the situation.</div>
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lastly, bury head in the sand</span>: Sa(n)dly, this is the path most brands take. Keep quite and let the issue tide over. And this is exactly what Indigo did after their action. While it worked, it did nothing for the brand worthwhile</div>
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I'd say that when brands face such challenges on social media, it is best to look at these as hidden opportunities and try out something that might work positively for them.</div>
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As social media plays increasing role in people's lives, it will be harder for brands to keep all the people happy, all the time. At some point, their post or action will offend or alienate a part of their audience.. the brands need to have an action plan in place on how to address such eventualities. Some strategic directions for the same</div>
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Align</span> your stakeholders (especially the employees): Give them the complete transparency and arm them with knowledge and information about the issue. Make them believe in your company's stance, and ask them to show support for the same online</div>
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Influencer </span>Marketing: Have a list of influencers to whom you can reach out to and speak on the brand behalf</div>
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Distract:</span> Put unexpected responses out in the domain that people will be unsure how to respond. As more content out on social media will be visual in nature, emoticons, GIFs, videos are best options. Images leave a lot for user interpretation and are stuff that gets shared easily. A simple facepalm emoticon, will go a long way that writing an apology in text.</div>
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Last but not least,</div>
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Avoidance:</span> the time tested method of wait it out...Avoid any further responses and wait for the issue to die down.</div>
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Thanks!</div>
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mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-79265377374333590902018-09-13T15:19:00.003+05:302018-09-13T15:19:55.477+05:30What makes Hanuman angry today?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJ_DLtFAU0knusYY7gk6rh5EUZcArDz_kilYv97nmfoieGs8WsRInQjpKIo1dSBJ2OfW9kvDMV0ksXDVJh3ifwDMZoXJzypQrNWd-D2gp_2zONjb5-5u5b5gV3k57REGw3GR1og/s1600/hanuman+angy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJ_DLtFAU0knusYY7gk6rh5EUZcArDz_kilYv97nmfoieGs8WsRInQjpKIo1dSBJ2OfW9kvDMV0ksXDVJh3ifwDMZoXJzypQrNWd-D2gp_2zONjb5-5u5b5gV3k57REGw3GR1og/s400/hanuman+angy.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The angry looking Monkey-God, Hanuman, is
everywhere. Till about couple of years back he was not much visible in your
everyday life. In fact, today, I saw him in the car in front of me, as soon as
I left my apartment complex. Then I saw couple of him at the first traffic signal,
and many more on my way to the office. It made me think, why is he portrayed
angrily? And more importantly why are people increasingly falling in love with
his angry avatar?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Hanuman was always pictured as a gentle and
submissive god. The traditional image of his has a sense of calm on his face, folded
hands, or flying peacefully holding a mountain in his palm. The creator of the
‘new-look’ Hanuman, Karan Acharya, said in an interview, he designed this image
for his friends, and the intention was designing a Hanuman with an attitude. Looking
at the volume of google searches happening for the image, the popular
interpretation of ‘attitude’ has been ‘angry’. Below are few of my thoughts on
transformation of Hanuman from gentle and submissive to aggressive and macho
one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The picture of changing Hanuman is reflective of
the changes happening in the society today. The new majority of people coming
into the mainstream middle-class are people from small towns. They belong to
that section of society who was mostly nameless and faceless - till about few
years back - and did not have a proper job or identity. Today, we find this
class of people working as semi-professionals and professionals powering the
new economy that is visible in the urban India - Drivers, electricians,
repairmen, delivery boys, etc., These are people who are also facing headwinds
in terms of competition, consumerism, rising cost of living, expenses to meet
their aspirations… and the new-look Hanuman is the symbiotic of strength and
mindset to face and overcome these challenges. At a sublime level, these people
are also realizing their power (in numbers) in terms of political and social
structure. This aggressive image is an assertion of that transformation
happening, from being a submissive to assertive one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Also, we are living in the era of ‘fast and
furious’. We are an angrier lot today than before. This manifests in our
day-to-day behavior – online and offline. The media is full of rage stories;
the social media is littered with rage – based on politics, religion, or just
plain rant against everyone else in general. And rage begets rage. The reasons
for this rage could be varying, but the underlying reason is, this manifests
when there is inequality in the society & widening of gap between what you
want and what you get.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">A picture of angry Hanuman is a representation of
the suppressed anger we are carrying within ourselves<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Technology too has an important part to play to
make this image popular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture was
uploaded and shared by the creator for free. The best part, it was not just an
image but also the source and vector file of the same was available on the Net.
This increased the possibility of others to download and use the file for their
specific needs. Internet is a place that is crawling with people looking for a
good design/content that they can use and getting high quality stuff for free
is always welcome. It is simple, it has an expression, it is adaptable - from
signages, to the popular windshield stickers, T-shirts, Mugs, and even Tattoo! I
think the fact that the image found its sweet spot when it started appearing in
the rear windshield of the vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The art/designer community online is a close-knit
community. There are regular online destinations they visit for their regular
creative dose or inspiration. If something interesting and catchy is available,
it soon becomes popular amongst the community. However, the increased
popularity of ‘Angry Hanuman’ was due to its reference by the Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi, during an election campaign in May 2018. The Google trends show
a spike in search interest during this period and it got sustained at a higher-level
post the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">For sure, the popularity of new look Hanuman is
not going away soon. It is a symbolism of a new movement that is happening
around us and will remain for sometime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br /></div>
mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-762801603424823502018-04-19T18:22:00.002+05:302018-04-19T18:22:58.702+05:30Customer Experience for Airlines <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Few days back,
thanks to surprisingly less traffic, I checked in early at the airport. Since I
had time to kill and the domestic Delhi airport has nothing great to offer in
terms of shopping / killing time, I too indulged in the favorite pastime of the
nation, or maybe the world, I dare say - Mobile internet (social and search)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
What caught my
attention was the OTA (Online Travel website) banner ad that kept following me.
I knew it was because, I had searched for the flight details and fare on their
website a few days back, and the cookies were re-targeting me, etc. Couple of
thoughts crossed my mind</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ol style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="a">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;" value="1"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; font-size: 11.0pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">Why were the OTA digital
marketing team wasting their ad budget following a 'dead' prospect. I
mean, they do not know that I've purchased the ticket from some other
place (in my case, directly from the airline website). I had put my date
of travel on their website, why didn't the re-targeting ads stop a day
before my date of travel. From my past experience I know that these ads
are going to follow me for the next few weeks, wasting ad impressions and
budget. This lead to my second thought</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">What could the larger role of
digital be in a customer journey and how an airline can make use of
technology to enhance customer experience?</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
A traveler's user
journey can be divided into 4 stages</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NJugc9OlB1vIUXTfGXeoww07dVkuwx8KpHKxBrfJWU8BpBrhLlFp0ErETFq03hZyXfXQlweX8njC33NdRd2QG4EyjEzElPATYCG-jU1x707UA_9yi5DhQ6Y5uo4-ojgxVxyjPQ/s1600/Air+Traveler+User+Journey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NJugc9OlB1vIUXTfGXeoww07dVkuwx8KpHKxBrfJWU8BpBrhLlFp0ErETFq03hZyXfXQlweX8njC33NdRd2QG4EyjEzElPATYCG-jU1x707UA_9yi5DhQ6Y5uo4-ojgxVxyjPQ/s400/Air+Traveler+User+Journey.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Pre booking</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Even before the
celebrated First Step in every journey, it all beings with a want or a need.
The triggers for want to travel could social media, friends, recommendations,
interest, etc. The need to travel (especially air travel) could be based on
convenience, speed, option (or lack of it), etc. Be it a want or need, the
natural progression of satisfying the want or need would be to search for the
best available options - either a travel website (trip advisor), OTA websites,
search engine recommendations, etc. Not to forget the emails and WhatsApp chat,
etc., with friends and family along the way. The cookie based (re)targeting,
dynamic and customized communication, etc., are effective ways of keeping the
user engaged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Booking & Pre travel</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The user experience
during booking (through website or app) is something that most businesses have
focused on and got it right to a large extent. The search, choice, and purchase
are seamless in most instance. Even small things like, the passbook (iOS) integration
are helpful. In fact, in some instances, you can book a flight ticket under 2
minutes! Airlines could go a step further by having strategic partnerships with
hotels, banks (currency exchange/ travel cards, etc.) to help their customers
have a seamless international travel experience. Even non-basic stuff like Duty
Free comparison would be a helpful option as part of customer experience.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Travel</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The only thing that
I see most airlines offer currently as part of travel stage is the web
check-in. There is huge opportunity to enhance customer experience in this
stage. Right from integrating with a cab aggregator for airport drop, to cabin
luggage estimator (dimensions would be easy, but knowing the weight will be
helpful);<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using NFC, Bluetooth /
Beacons, IoT,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>technologies<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we can create geo-fencing inside the
terminals, integrate digital signages, luggage/baggage tracker all can enhance
the travel experience. Enriching the experience further could be airport
terminal shopping experience - best deal offers, getting to choose the on board
entertainment, cuisines,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>special
requests…all can be<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>handled using
technology.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Post travel</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The check-out
services like visa (on arrival), immigration services is a useful feature as
part of the traveler's journey. The experience can end on a high note by<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>helping the user hail a cab to the
hotel/destination where they want to go.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
It is high time
airlines look at reinventing the way they see a 'customer journey'. Airlines
should aspire to be Starbucks, by being in the business of experience than just
selling a travel option. Delivering a good customer experience is a challenge,
but technologies are making it feasible and affordable.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
What do you say? Do
you think you'd love to see an airline offering such an experience?? Love to
hear your thoughts on it.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Cheers!</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Santosh</div>
<br /></div>
mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-32243584979540470692018-04-01T11:41:00.000+05:302018-04-01T11:41:19.368+05:30The What and Why of Personal Branding<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Lately, everyone
seems to be talking about personal branding and what it means in today's
digital and marketing age. I cringe whenever I get to see any headlines or
articles promoting 'Personal Branding' through social media. Every 3rd or 4th
article on branding topic in my Flipboard dashboard is about personal branding
- how important it is, how to capitalize, listicles on personal branding etc.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFT4kAbWyFpa6X-JO2n4LyO6YRb3oUimoFiuu1Dg_ca1rBscbUrKlBL73A950kCtY2AxQQU5BqYPEZGK-IGymcb1OGNKyPhq5tf5vLmRpprBNZaxFq6rGh4ObU6H_zWEyo24j8A/s1600/Personal+Branding+Trends+Zentosh.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="1159" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFT4kAbWyFpa6X-JO2n4LyO6YRb3oUimoFiuu1Dg_ca1rBscbUrKlBL73A950kCtY2AxQQU5BqYPEZGK-IGymcb1OGNKyPhq5tf5vLmRpprBNZaxFq6rGh4ObU6H_zWEyo24j8A/s640/Personal+Branding+Trends+Zentosh.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Over the last 5
years google trends on personal branding shows an interesting pattern. While
there is slight increase in terms of the interest over time, it has a jagged
growth. The December months sees a huge dip & so also a mid-year dip around
June-July. One main reason could be that year ends and mid-year periods are
usually lean period for job changes, perhaps?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
As much as I don't
like the whole idea of 'personal branding', this is a new reality and
professionals needs to successfully engage with their audience with the
available digital tools. While there are many articles on how to go about,
blogging, updating linkedin/twitter profiles, cross-channel promotions, content
calendar, back-linking, SEO, etc, etc.. I wanted to share my thoughts on
something more strategic, the what and why about personal branding, based on my
digital marketing experience & what I do for clients</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Have a clear </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">objective</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> - Like every good marketing campaign
brief, you need to have an objective for your personal branding. Example:
Successfully communicate with my target audience and put forward my value
proposition</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Identify your <span style="font-weight: bold;">target audience</span>: Like every good branding
exercise, you'll need to sharply define your target audience.. Who are they,
where are they, what they do, what motivates them, what kind of content they
like and engage with..etc</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Fine tune your <span style="font-weight: bold;">value proposition</span>: There are many 'me-too'
people out there. You need to have a sharper definition of who you are. Try and
be as specific as possible and avoid fad words like - <i>digital marketing guru,
ninja, maven (does anybody remember mavens?) etc</i>., are big no, no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Example, don't say, <i>I am Digital Media Guru</i>..
A better interpretation could be, <i>Expert in Online Advertising, A Google
Adwords Certified professional.</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Remember, there are
many people and publishers out there competing for the same audience attention
with a different or similar proposition. Overcoming this challenge and have an
effective communication with your TG will need a deeper understanding of the
audience. You can get this through analytical insights.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
You Must Have an
Owned Media. This is something I have been saying to clients from a very long
time, better to live in your own house than a rented property. While the reach
may not be great, you get data and analytics to build a deeper and meaningful
insight about your audience. Have your own website with web analytics
(Wordpress/Blogger + Google Analytics is the most safest and best option).
You'll get to know what brings them to your website (keywords), what content
engages them the most, why they are doing it, from where, when, etc.. All
helping you to better your engagement</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Understand your
audience basic drives.. What is the benefit for them to follow you or engage
with your content. Break it down to functional, emotional, (and societal)
benefits. Also check from a larger perspective regarding what communication is
being consumed in your domain through google trends, industry websites,
whitepapers being published, etc., are good starting points</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Lastly, try and map
the 'customer experience' - what touchpoints, which platforms, at what
frequency, etc.. This is where you'll realize that if you need to be active on
a Twitter or on LinkedIn, or both. What role will Quora have or is a Facebook
page necessary?</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Summing up, the
above points can be categorized into 3 stages</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-size: 11pt;">Envision: </b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">A clear
objective, audience definition, and value proposition</span></li>
<li><b style="font-size: 11pt;">Experience: </b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Think
from your audience perspective, the drivers, what they like, what content
exposure, ..through research and analytics</span></li>
<li><b style="font-size: 11pt;">Execute: </b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The
touchpoints, frequency, activity, etc.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
It is worth noting
that a pure marketing activity like branding has come to occupy an individual's
activity and what it speaks about the future of work. I will share my thoughts
about future of work in a latter post</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
In the meantime, I'd
love to know your thoughts on personal branding.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br />
Cheers!</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Santosh</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-11422788061685319102018-02-23T12:07:00.002+05:302018-02-23T12:07:59.003+05:30Tech ramblings during travel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The problem with
breaking a habit is that breaking a habit becomes the habit. No tongue twister
here, it is just my observation for not writing a post/blog for a long time. My
OneNote has a list of topics that I had noted down that I want to write and share,
but somehow I just didn't find the right motivation to write. That for you is a
long form of defining laziness ;)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHhymBvujb0-4gDjOsLNVKLqnKZQhJUDPbzxrmiP33YIDavfOR4DBy4XDXPBCq8NUSsb6gy7pYOkR81EnuT95TAfMct2NGGF9TVMw48RXkECDyncVGKbUskTOm9S_a_7bV74QnQ/s1600/BridgeClimb+Sydney+Skyline.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHhymBvujb0-4gDjOsLNVKLqnKZQhJUDPbzxrmiP33YIDavfOR4DBy4XDXPBCq8NUSsb6gy7pYOkR81EnuT95TAfMct2NGGF9TVMw48RXkECDyncVGKbUskTOm9S_a_7bV74QnQ/s320/BridgeClimb+Sydney+Skyline.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 11pt;">A 2 week business
trip to Sydney at the start of the month had given me enough time to think and
look around what is happening. I started to look at things with the filter of
technology and digital. Here are few of my observations & trends, in no particular
order</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>Different people, same
behaviour: </b>When it comes to technology behaviour, even though it was 2
different continent, it was same everywhere. People spend most times
checking their WhatsApp messages, or Facebooking through their phone. A
large number of people were keen on getting their selfies taken against
popular backdrop. Kids in the public transport with their earphones
plugged, were busy playing games on their mobiles… Just like the regular
folks back in India</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>Democratization of
Content:</b><b> </b> Now everyone has the
ability to create, publish, and distribute content. Internet has
democratized content. Accessibility of content (lower mobile data charges,
free WiFi, etc) too has made things easier. Today the user is both a
creator and consumer of content simultaneously. I kept in touch with local
news from India through the net, uploaded photos in my social media
profile real time, was chatting and talking with my groups/family &
friends through WhatsApp… something that was unthinkable even couple of
years back</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>Technology abating
creativity:</b> One thing that always caught my attention during my travel
abroad was, advertisements. Hoardings, TVC, Print ads, posters at point of
sales, etc all catches my attention. In the early years, when I used to
compare ads from India to the 'foreign' ads esp. in developed markets, I
found a vast difference in the creativity, design, images, etc. Somehow,
over the past few years that gap has closed, and in many cases completely
missing. I guess, technology, along with globalization has got a lot to
do. We use the same stock images, platform, have access to the same design
machines and software, access to the same 'inspiration' (Google and
Instagram, perhaps ;). In fact, I feel that in many instances, creativity
is tending towards the mean…rather than extremes.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>Less differentiation between
people's work: </b>If you are working in the digital marketing, you'll realize
that there is hardly any difference in terms of the approach or the
technologies between what you and your colleagues are using in other parts
of the globe. The only exception, if your colleague is working behind the
GFWC (Great FireWall of China). Be it use of DMP, Analytical tools for
performance, DAM, etc.. It is pretty much the same. Maybe the solution
provider is not the same, but yes, the solution surely is</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>The rise of contractual
jobs/lease of work:</b> I got to speak to few friends of mine from India who
are currently working in Australia. Some of them are working on
contractual positions which are usually a short term arrangement for an
year or less. In fact, speaking to few Uber drivers in Sydney, I realize
that none of them stayed in a full-time job for more than 2 years. My view
is that pretty soon we will have Uberization of regular jobs. Knowledge
will lie within the machines, and newer people can carry on the work from
where the earlier person left off…without much handover or induction. With
many govt. labour laws being pro employee, it will take some time for
policies to change… but change it will.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>Building digital credibility:</b>
While I'm not a huge fan of 'personal branding', I think more and more
people will invest their time into building one, especially in networking
sites like LinkedIn or forums/groups of Interest. The case in point being,
a friend of mine introduced me (over WhatsApp) to someone local in Sydney
who is an entrepreneur. While both of us were on the call, we were in
parallel checking each other's LinkedIn profile, twitter handle, and did a
quick Google search. This incident made me realize that how much digital
plays in terms of building individual perception. Maybe it is a good idea
to invest few hours a week for some personal branding. Maybe, a tweet can
change your life :)</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>The predictability of
travel:</b><b> </b> One of the best things
about travel was the unpredictability and the sudden experiences that you
encounter in your travel. However, due to technology and ever
accessibility of information, travel has become predictable. The strange
places seems familiar even before you arrive. The maps help you navigate
without any hitch. Search engines and websites help you uncover the most
secret of the places too. The journey is almost like a script. It starts
with a search (about the place, flights, etc) and ends with social (images
and updates on Facebook/Instagram)</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
A promise to myself,
I should get into the habit of writing and sharing knowledge regularly.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Cheers!</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Santosh</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Photo Credit: Sydney
Bridge Climb</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-72630302749335038222017-07-25T20:35:00.000+05:302017-07-25T20:35:16.154+05:30Why Convenience is Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 0.975em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The value of convenience is emphases on consumption rather than production of technology (Thomas F. Tierney) </em></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
The other day, when I read the above passage in an article, it made me think that one of the oft-used word in the digital business model is - convenience. Be it the ecommerce, omni-channel, user experience, customer journey, all these hinge on, convenience. But what is convenience and can it be quantified. More importantly, is it for real</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Wikipedia defines convenience as, the state of being able to proceed with something without difficulty. Difficulty is directly related to the effort and by definition effort can be termed as the minimum usage of available resources for maximum benefit. As a consumer the finite available resource at his disposal are - Energy, money, and time. But as money is directly related to savings and cannot be considered convenience in the true sense, we shall focus on energy & time. The more you expend your limited resources, the less convenient it becomes. convenience thus is inversely proportional to the consumer's energy & time.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
C α 1/(E+T)</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
However, the need to own a product will depend on its value (how badly the consumer needs/wants it) and how much it costs in contemporary channels.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Hence</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
C = V/(E+T)</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Where, C= Convenience, E = Energy (for Physical and Mental effort), T= Time, V= Value (perceived value)</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
So if convenience is mostly about time & energy…what will one do with the time they are freeing up? I asked few of my friends and colleagues what would they like to do during free time… here are the most popular responses -</div>
<ul style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin: 3.2rem 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 2.4rem 0px 2.4rem 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Watch movie</li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 2.4rem 0px 2.4rem 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Spend time with family & friends</li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 2.4rem 0px 2.4rem 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Listen to music</li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 2.4rem 0px 2.4rem 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Read books </li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 2.4rem 0px 2.4rem 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Play games</li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: inherit; margin: 2.4rem 0px 2.4rem 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sleep</li>
</ul>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
So the two probable outcomes of convenience by freeing up time would be more travel and more media consumption. And since the conserved energy needs to be expended, physical exercises or travel would happen . But seriously, travel to meet friends?, which itself is less convincing as one of the prime drivers (no pun here) for going digital was to avoid travel. Since travel happens to be common in both time and energy aspect and in this fast paced life the popular currency of travel/commute happens to be time.. Time is of essence, when it comes to convenience</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
The likelihood of doing the notional activities that the user is interested in doing would be a better value proposition for communicating convenience. Eg: <em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 0.975em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Watch "The Avengers" while your shop. Or. Play Squash in your supermart aisle. </em></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Cheers!</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Santosh</div>
</div>
mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-31875918331800977842017-05-03T10:37:00.000+05:302017-05-03T10:37:24.205+05:30Cool New Websites of the future<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: italic;">Hey, Website!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: italic;">Hey yourself, User. What brings you here?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: italic;">I hear you are a cool guy/place to hang around with
:)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks! Wow!! Didn't know that I'm that famous ;) tbh
I'm just trying to be like you - More human, more friendly :)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
…and so forth, the
online conversation goes on between the user & the brand </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Every brand website
is a potential storyteller and technology is a great enabler of stories. The
pace at which technology is getting adopted, especially the bot & AI
technologies, chatting and talking websites are going to be the future
storytellers of the brand.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Websites have come a
long way. From the static 'online
catalogs' of early 90's to animated Flash based website of 2000's and the
current search friendly and dynamic websites (with some personalization and
responsive)…. They were led by customer friendly approach which was driven by
the device & the purpose - Informational to Interactional to Engagement.
The future purposes of website is to be conversational and be brand story
tellers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmuo_H6T6BJGbmlcfHuT5d-N7iQHtv35sFH5BxLx8YRnYma0G7MBEy3FB5b66cMEgXBxn9Oxavnio8eudkJ9DPDSHY83mUi_g1zGZWG4FE9v6QFjf2eGhUwzNyIyogr7JYY0jeA/s1600/Website+Evolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmuo_H6T6BJGbmlcfHuT5d-N7iQHtv35sFH5BxLx8YRnYma0G7MBEy3FB5b66cMEgXBxn9Oxavnio8eudkJ9DPDSHY83mUi_g1zGZWG4FE9v6QFjf2eGhUwzNyIyogr7JYY0jeA/s320/Website+Evolution.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Chatbots have been
around for quite some time now. Remember, the virtual assistants you see in few
shopping portals or the popular (actually unpopular) Clippit, the office
assistant in the earlier version of MS-Word. Well, these dumb stuffs have
actually become smart over the years, thanks to artificial intelligence. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #455560; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; font-style: italic;">“So pretty much
everyone today who is building applications whether they be mobile apps or
desktop apps or websites will build bots as the new interface, where you have a
human dialogue interface versus menus of the past,</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; font-style: italic;">” - Satya Nadella </span></div>
<div style="color: #455560; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
There will be a paradigm shift in User Experience due to this
new UI involving bot & AI technologies. The advantages of having a
conversational UI are lot. Here are few important things I can think about: </div>
<ul style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .375in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
<li style="color: #455560; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">It helps build more engagement
than a tree based content layout</span></li>
<li style="color: #455560; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">More natural and personal than
a regular website content </span></li>
<li style="color: #455560; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Instead of browsing a website,
you’ll be talking to the brand-bot</span></li>
<li style="color: #455560; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">The possibilities are endless –
they can work across multiple platforms and can be scaled to process
natural language, including voice commands</span></li>
</ul>
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<div style="color: #455560; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Soon,
you'll have brands having conversations with you on chat platforms, social
media, websites, and devices (Siri, Echo, Alexa, etc). A seamless storytelling
through owned, shared, and paid media</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7677372.post-82719298215039876682017-03-01T11:23:00.000+05:302017-03-01T11:46:20.974+05:30Key Takeaways from NASSCOM ILF 2017 Event<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a long time,
I attended a full NASSCOM conference (Yes, all of three days!!). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As good </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">events go, this event too was good, with a long line of illustrious industry </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">speakers (Ginni </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rometty) business leaders (Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahendra) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to
sportsperson (Anil </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kumble). The topic curiously was more introspective </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">rather
than outward looking – </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>To reimagine and not reengineer</b></span></div>
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While a variety of
topics were discussed (<a href="https://nilf2017.sched.com/">https://nilf2017.sched.com/</a>) </div>
</span><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;">
for me the key takeaways from the event were:</div>
</span><b><br /></b></span><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.2611in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Artificial Intelligence</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Virtual Reality</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>HealthTech</b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From IBM Watson to Startups
creating NLP & Deep Learning based solutions for enterprise, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd
noticed AI coming in all shapes and sizes. Some call it Machine Learning,
some others Cognitive </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Business. However, the idea that data will drive
businesses is very real. If Data is the new oil… </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Artificial intelligence
is going to the refinery plant.<br /><br />Virtual Reality, which has
been in the spot light for past few years but limited its presence and
activities</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to media and gaming industry will have a larger role to play
in various other businesses. Healthcare and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Education being the most
natural progression for virtual reality solution. From the basic 360
degree </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">video currently in use… the use of 3D - CGI will increase.
Personally, I feel that VR needs to move </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from single user interaction to
single object - multiple users interactions on real time basis.</span><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.2611in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />From FoodTech couple of
years back and to Fintech last year… this year will be about HealthTech. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The healthcare market is over $3 Trillion and digital has been scantly
used in this industry. There is </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">huge interest from Pharma, Insurance, and
Govt on increasing the quality of medical care thus will give</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">rise to a
lot of startups focussing on end user solutions</span><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.2611in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-top: 0in; unicode-bidi: embed;" type="disc">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Varia: </b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apart from the
above, there were some more things to ponder:</span></div>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Why do technology firms talk
about VR / reduced attention span,
etc. but have day long conferences & have has physical
conferences rather than virtual hangouts?</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Most technologies are old
wine in new bottle… Be it ASP (application service provider), SAAS, cloud
computing, etc…</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Is Digital SCAM
(Social-Cloud-Analytics-Mobile) in a new guise </span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Messenger is more important
than the message: Two business leaders having divergent views on same
subject (demonetization) receives applause from the same audience.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">We live in the ‘Now’ moment:
As the field of technology rapidly changes, most of the business leaders
have a focus on what is the current need and try and identify solutions
that best suits their current challenges. Also, they consume information
for the moment with little action points.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">There is a huge gender gap
in IT field…. Unlike most of the media & marketing/advertising events
I have and keep attending regularly - women delegates are scantly present
in the NASSCOM event. Hope the young girls take inspiration from Ginni
Rommety and we get to see many more women in the IT field. Please note
this comparison is just between media/advertising industry and IT
industry</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheers!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Santosh</span></div>
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mycyspherehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671853644832543233noreply@blogger.com1