e Magus

The most preferred time for marketers and advertisers on Television is the ‘Prime time’. By definition it means – “ the time period when the television or radio audience is the largest”. Now for years, this block of programming is based on time (Evening hours between 8 PM to 11 PM) or between programming that gathers maximum eyeballs, like sports events. One of the reasons of prime time being there, as mentioned in Wikipedia is – “ Most people tend to watch television at prime time because most people who are usually tired coming home from work or school tend to watch TV, usually right after dinner…” But, is reach of the communication the only reason for advertisers to flock across to prime time? I guess not. Literally, there is much more than what meets the eye (and when) We all are aware that advertising works on the basis of stimulus and response.   Psychologist Daniel Gilbert in his essay “How Mental Systems Believe” theorizes about believing...

One good thing about writing about future trends is that no one has been there. If you are wrong, nobody notices; and if you are right, you could tom-tom about it, saying, ‘I said so…’ So, here I go with my 4 safe bets for the year:: 1) Facebook will become more Google 2) Google will become more Facebook 3) Year of engagement (likeable and shareable) 4) Convergence – One content, many formats Facebook will become more Google: Even today, advertisement revenues happen to be lifeline for most online platforms. The success of the Google PPC campaigns is based on the ability to place preferred advertisement, with high relevancy. This Google business model hinges on its algorithm. Be it the ubiquitous search results or their adwords, it all is possible because of the logic that is build basis the data. Advertising on Facebook has so far been on the basis of the user profile. But, unlike the profile, which becomes mostly static (as most people do not update it after creating it)…....

Marketers are an uneasy lot now. The traditional Marketing Mix everyone is used to is expanding. The 4 P’s extended to become 7, and now with the rise of digital media there is an eighth P – Publisher. Till about few year back, creating content for the brand was limited to the communication (advertising), product information (brochures, etc) and some PR (which was company’s POV or related to events etc). Even during the early days of the Internet, content was just an adaptation of the traditional medium – be it in form of mailers, website, or advertising communication. Today however, Internet is a sum of Content + Conversation. Every second, millions of content (text, images, videos, games, etc) and conversations are created, shared, and consumed. The platforms could range from websites, widgets, emails, blogs, to social networking sites. While most content and conversations might not be relevant, but to its creator and a few people within their network, still a vast portion of con...

There was a time when the roles were clearly defined and work demarcated. Each person and department knew what their function were, where it began and where it ended. As technology got adapted into business, the lines began to blur. And as technology evolved, the lines have almost disappeared. Now-a-days, it seems like, you need to be jack-of-all-trades and maybe master in some too. The same can be said about gadgets. Each gadget found its origin for a specific task. Be it the pagers, mobile phones, computers, music players, cameras, etc.. all having a specific role and function. However, as the technology grew, so did the blurring of roles and functions. Newer gadgets came across amalgamating different functions - Laptops, iPods, Smart-phones, iPads... The most versatile of the gadget is the one that hogs the limelight. Imagine, today, with a versatile gadget one can do 'normal' stuff like - - make calls, access internet, click pictures, check mails, listen to songs, c...

Some of my thoughts on Why this kolaveri di phenomenon. With over 24 Million views on the original video, (plus an equal number of views on the various versions of it)this have become a true viral/meme case-study from India. No more reference to the Microsoft-Pankaj Udhas 'viral' or any of those 'foreign' case studies. Added to it are dedicated Facebook pages and millions of search results trying to bask in the glory of WTKD (including this blog :D) If one looks in deep, this song had all the makings for becoming a viral success. Any digital marketer could learn from the success of WTKD song. Here are some of the recipes that went into making this an success: Simplicity: A song with least common denominator English words regularly used by the youth with couple of simple vernacular words... the song has the universality of nursery rhymes like, Twinkle, Twinkle Little star.... or a Johnny, Johnny, Yes Papa.. With no music knowledge required, little wonder anybody ...

The fact is that a cordless telephone instrument, working on radio waves, through which one could make or receive calls within a designated area called ‘cell’ (hence the word cellular), have now become an inseparable media device, we just can’t do without The Mobile phone has come a long way since the time Motorola made the first instrument. Interestingly so, the need for the device and every new improvement or feature was as an augmentation to an existing category demand. It then soon encompassed the entire category itself. For example, the earliest need was to increase the communication means by able to reach places which was hard or impossible to reach through landlines – Ship to shore communication, or reaching across through mountainous regions, etc Since then, with each enhancement, mobile phones ran over an existing media product category. There are 3 distinct timelines of mobile phone entering a particular category The early phase The current phase The future phase ...

If people are shifting time from watching television to Facebooking, it has nothing got to do with social interactions and keeping in touch with their network… it is just that they get to replay what they are used to seeing on the television. Mostly I feel, Facebook is nothing but television in a new avatar. Like in television you have various channels and programmes that are categorized into various genres. Similarly you’ll find people in your network who fall into such genres Here are a dozen of media archetypes, I’m sure, you’ll find in your Facebook network too The Newsreader: Breaking News!!! You heard it first here! Be it Qantas grounding their entire fleet worldwide…or the local Metallica concert getting cancelled. They want to the first to make a mention of it. No point of view, or any other description; just the headlines and link to the source news website. Usually, such people have their twitter feeds connected to their Facebook Updates. These types are one of the most ...