Best marketing practices - USA - Part - I

If you want to learn the flair of marketing you have to visit the Mecca of marketing the USA. USA is a place where everything in the world is marketed. Americans can market the things better than it where the idea or products originated. For example Yoga originated in India but it was made famous in the United States of America.

Cemetery space selling: A hard working South Asian Indian in California had a dapper visitor. The visitor introduced himself and said that he was selling space. The Indian asked him about the details. The sales man said he was selling cemetery space. The Indian recoiled in horror. Like al of us death is a taboo topic got the Indians. Death is something that is natural and it is inevitable. But no one thinks about it. But the sales man went on to give out philosophy. He said “who will take care of you when you move away (see he is not using the word death, Insurance sellers please note). You have to provide a decent burial for yourself. You can come for a visit and see your resting area yourself. We do have a installment scheme where you an pay monthly.

"You can use our service not only for the burial but annually too. We can see that agarbattis (excuse me he said agarbattis – this sales man has really done his home work). are lit on your Samadhi every year. You can a have a floral service too.”

The Indian was not all convinced. He tried putting away the brash sales man by asking him to meet him at a later stage. As the sales man started to pick up his things he gave a broad smile and said “our cemetery plots are according to vaastu (a Hindu tradition of space design to promote harmony with natural forces). I can see that you are given a north east facing space at no extra cost”. The Indian almost fainted at the depth of the salesman’s knowledge about his customer. The sales man even though not successful in transacting a sale proved a valid point about in depth call preparation before meeting the customer.

The 20 Newspaper Terms Every Marketing Student Should Know

Newspapers have been one of the most powerful advertising media for more than a century. Even in the age of digital marketing, newspapers continue to play an important role because of their credibility, structured layout and loyal readership. 

For marketing students and young advertising professionals, it is important to understand the terminology used in newspaper advertising. These terms help explain how advertisements are planned, priced and placed in newspapers. The following are some of the most commonly used terms in newspaper advertising.

1. NEWS: When asked how the word NEWS originated, most people are often unable to give a clear answer. The explanation is actually very simple. The word NEWS comes from the four directions of the compass — North, East, West and South.

News provides information about what is happening from all parts of the country and the world. Because it brings information from every direction, it came to be called NEWS, an acronym formed from the first letters of North, East, West and South. This explanation beautifully captures the role of journalism — gathering information from everywhere and presenting it to the public.

2. Masthead: The masthead is the name or logo of the newspaper that is printed in a distinctive style and font at the top of the front page. Examples include:

• The Hindu
• The Deccan Chronicle
• The Times of India

The masthead is the first thing that readers notice when they pick up a newspaper. It represents the identity, reputation and credibility of the publication. Because of its importance, the masthead is treated as a sacred space by most newspapers.

3. Ear Panels:  On either side of the masthead, we often see small advertisements. These advertisements are called ear panels.

They are usually the same height as the masthead and about one column centimetre wide. Because these advertisements appear like the ears of the masthead, they are called ear panels. Despite their small size, ear panels are very effective because they occupy a highly visible position on the front page.

4. Solus:  The front page of a newspaper is considered the most valuable advertising space. It is the first thing that readers see when they open the newspaper in the morning.

Usually only one advertisement is allowed on the front page. Because only a single advertisement appears there, it is called a Solus (meaning single). Since the advertiser gets exclusive visibility on the front page, newspapers typically charge 100% premium for Solus advertisements. 

The Solus advertisement is generally placed at the bottom right corner of the first page, which is considered a prime viewing position.

5. Run of Paper (ROP) ads are newspaper advertisements placed anywhere within the publication at the publisher’s discretion, rather than in a guaranteed, premium location. ROP ads are popular for being cost-effective, offering flexible scheduling, and allowing advertisements to appear in editorial sections, excluding classifieds.

6. Newspaper supplements:  are separately bound, often glossy, publications included with a regular newspaper, focusing on specialized topics, lifestyle, entertainment, or advertising. They serve as a vital tool for targeting specific audience demographics and attracting niche advertisers, such as real estate or automotive, that might not be suitable for the main news section.

7. ABC Accredited Agency: Only Audit Bureau of Circulation accredited agencies can get a payment credit period of 60 days for ads released in the media. Also many clients would only deal with accredited agencies. It is a sign of respect and recognition.

8. Advertorial: Most readers are naturally skeptical about advertisements. Many people believe advertisements exaggerate claims and therefore tend to ignore them. However, advertisements are the main source of revenue for newspapers.

To overcome this problem, newspapers developed a format called the advertorial. An advertorial is an advertisement written in the form of a news article. It reads like a news report, as if a journalist is reporting a business development or product launch. Because it resembles editorial content, readers are more likely to read it.

However, regulatory bodies such as the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and organizations like the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) monitor such practices. Therefore, newspapers usually include a disclaimer identifying the content as Advertorial or Paid Content. The word advertorial itself comes from combining the words advertisement and editorial.

Advertorials can be effective communication tools, but they should be used carefully. As readers become familiar with the concept, they may begin to treat advertorials like regular advertisements.

9. Release Order: A Release Order is the official written confirmation given by the advertising agency to the media organization authorizing them to publish, print, broadcast or display the advertisement.

The Release Order includes important details such as the advertiser’s name, advertisement size, publication date and placement instructions. For outdoor media (OOH), the Release Order may also authorize the media owner to paint or install the advertisement at specified locations.

10. Rate Card: A rate card is a document that lists the cost of advertising space or time in a particular medium. Media organizations such as newspapers, magazines, television channels and radio stations provide rate cards to advertising agencies. The rate card typically contains details about advertisement sizes, positions and pricing structures.

11. Account Executive: In advertising terminology, every client that requires advertising services is referred to as an account. The professional within the advertising agency responsible for handling that client is known as the Account Executive.

The Account Executive acts as the link between the client and the various departments within the agency, ensuring that the campaign runs smoothly.

12. A Brief: A brief is a written communication provided by the client to the advertising agency. It outlines the objectives of the campaign, the target audience, the key message, and the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure the effectiveness of the campaign. A clear and well-prepared brief is essential for developing an effective advertising campaign.

13. 15% Men: Traditionally, advertising agencies received a 15% commission from media houses for bringing advertising business to them. Because of this industry practice, advertising professionals were often referred to as “15% men.” Although compensation models have evolved over time, the phrase remains part of advertising industry jargon.

14. Columns in a newspaper: There are usually 8 columns in a newspaper and customers are charged per column centimetre.

15. Tear Sheet: A tear sheet is furnished by the media (the newspaper) as proof of publication. The tear sheet is the actual print copy of the published advertisement.

16. Bleed Ad: A bleed ad is an ad that is printed from edge to edge or printed flush. As it is printed totally, the cost of a bleed is usually higher than a normal ad that will have a border.

17. Surrogate Advertising: Government of India does not allow cigarette and alcohol ads to be printed or advertised. So, the companies resort to surrogate advertising. That is, a company would release Kingfisher mineral water or Kingfisher playing cards. The jingle and the format of the ad would be the same as that of the beer ad. When the ads for mineral water and playing cards are shown, viewers immediately get reminded of the original beer ad.

18. Gimmicks with the Masthead: Generally, the masthead is a very sacred place and most publications do not tamper with it. But Times of India gets very innovative. Their  attempt proved to be sensational. They did the following. They said:

LET TIMES OF INDIA WAIT: The words LET and WAIT were in the same logo and font size as the regular masthead. The entire first page was kept blank after the masthead and the second page gave the news. It was an advertisement for a new launch of an FMCG product.

Such gimmicks are controversial because they temporarily alter the identity of the newspaper to accommodate advertisers, which some readers and media analysts view as undermining the traditional sanctity of the masthead.

19. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a voluntary self-regulatory  organization of the advertising industry in India.  ASCI is committed to the cause of self-regulation in advertising, ensuring the protection of the interest of consumers.

ASCI seeks to ensure that advertisements conform to its Code for Self-Regulation, which requires advertisements to be legal, decent, honest and truthful, and not hazardous or harmful while observing fairness in competition. ASCI looks into complaints across ALL MEDIA such as Print, TV, Radio, hoardings, SMS, Emailers, Internet/website, product packaging, brochures, promotional material and point of sale material etc.

20. A print run:  in a newspaper is the total number of copies produced in a single, continuous printing session, typically determined by anticipated demand, market size, and budget. It differs from readership (people reading the copy) and paid circulation (copies actually sold), as it includes complimentary or unsold copies

Conclusion: Newspaper advertising has developed its own unique language over many decades. Understanding terms such as masthead, ear panels, Solus advertisements and advertorials helps students and marketing professionals understand how newspaper advertising functions. Even today, newspapers continue to remain an important advertising medium because of their credibility, reach and structured format.

For anyone interested in marketing, advertising or media planning, familiarity with these terms is an essential first step. Understanding the above concepts helps in grasping the fundamentals of media planning and advertising management.

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Best Indian Sales Promotions

Sales promotion is that short term inducement given to the buyers to go and procure the product immediately. Given below are some innovative sales promotion techniques used by Indian companies.

CELLO: This Indian company that makes insulated products for daily use like lunch boxes and water bottles did a very unique sales promotion campaign. The campaign requested the customers to register with the company. All the registered participants were told that they might be receiving a call from the marketing department of CELLO.

The catch was that when the representative from the Cello company calls the customers has to say CELLO instead of HELLO. This led to rousingly funny situations where many people in Hyderabad were lifting their phone and saying CELLO instead of HELLO much to the bemusement of the regular callers. But the point was well made by CELLO and it gave all the registered customers a discount. A definite win-win and an example of what can happen if people think with clarity of purpose.

Point Detergent Powder: An Indian company that sadly no longer exists. Point was very famous with all youngsters in the seventies. Point detergent powder package carried board games, puzzles and other things (pictures of birds and animals) that kids loved to cut and keep.

One cut out that I keptfor a long time was the cut out of the cricket pitch with all the positions marked. Point gave us 11 small fielders to place and change according to their field positions. In the era of radio commentary it was a brilliant tool of making the listeners understand and enjoy the game of cricket.

 Cadbury’s Gems cricket game: In a country like India that is mad about cricket it is but natural that the next sales promotion tool also gets linked with the game of cricket. Cadbury’s gems came out with an idea of supplying the customer with a pop up bottle full of gems. The bottle can be used to play very innovative gamed of Indoor cricket. For cricket mad Indians who can play cricket even with a printed book (it is very essential that the book should have page numbers!) the ploy was a huge success.

Two large people on a Luna:In India Luna (a sort of motorized cycle) was very popular. It was cheap, easy to ride and gave good mileage. But the only problem was that they were considered to be fragile and for thin people. Luna came out with a campaign where they show cased two extremely big people riding on the same Luna. The message was loud and clear. Luna can take the load of two extremely large people. Customers who make booking on the same day were given a discount.

Kinetic Honda: Similarly Indians did not take very kindly to the concept of Auto start, gear less scooters. In their view the only macho scooter was the Bajaj Chetek. It was heavy, unwieldy, noisy, had to be kick started and above all had GEARS. Most people dismissed the Kinetic Honda as sissy scooter. They claimed that it was made of plastic and that it would disintegrate into pieces if it was driven for long distances.

To prove them wrong Kinetic Honda was put to the acid test by the Kinetic motors. They made the Kinetic Honda to go around in circles in a Pune Stadium for 24 hours without a break. The drivers used to change every two hours and while the drivers were changing the engine was kept on. Even the petrol was filled when the engine was running. Kinetic Honda proved all its detractors wrong by running without a hitch for 24 hours thus proving that it was a light weight, modern and technologically advanced scooter.

Best Indian Print Ads (LET TIMES OF INDIA OF WAIT, Ads that smell, ads that you can touch and feel, Talking press ads, Moving mazagine ads)

Advertisements are a very good way of expressing one’s creativity and the biggest challenge is to design a print advertisement keeping in mind the medium's cons which are the fleeting exposure, the clutter, the problem of cheap quality of paper and of printing. Let us examine 5 press advertisements that have stood out and become the talk of the town.

TIMES of INDIA: The old lady of Boribunder, TIMES OF INDIA always stood for innovation and bold thinking. So it was not a surprise to credit the top most innovation to this grand old lady of Indian Media. Most Readers were amused to see the masthead of TIMES OF INDIA become LET TIMES OF INDIA WAIT for ……………… The words LET and WAIT were of the same font and size of the mast head itself. .Most purists objected to the idea of the masthead becoming a part of a advertisement but like the adage goes “it is all about money - honey”. Even the old lady had to bow her head before the lucre of money.

SMELLING ADVERTISEMENTS: In many cases the press advertisements are visual in nature and leave the reader cold because he/she can't feel, touch and experience the product. One innovation that is very appealing is found in many foreign fashion magazines. The perfume and toiletries advertisements feature glossy photographs of models, perfumes and a patch of rub on. The reader can rub his finger on the rub on patch and smell his finger. And presto to he can smell the perfume. Talk about effective product demonstration. But care should be taken to see that the smell is nice and does not leak and spoil the entire magazine.

Telugu Diwali special publications over do the perfume part by dousing the entire magazine with Paneeru (a sort of perfume). The end result is a magazine that stinks and leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.

TOUCH AND SEE ADVERTISEMENTS: In the case of comparative advertisements it is very difficult to believe the veracity one's claim with another especially when the claims are based on perceptions that are very difficult to explain. Ariel tried a very innovative campaign to show that it washes better than its famous competitor. They claimed that their detergent is better than that of the competition by sticking small bits of cloth washed by its famous competitor and a small piece of cloth washed by Ariel itself. Needless to say the cloth bit washed by Ariel was cleaner, brighter and better looking. Like the saying seeking is believing.

TALKING ADVERTISEMENT: the biggest problem with the press advertisements are that they can't speak and they can't move. Both these issues have been addressed. First let us examine the talking advertisement . THE TIMES OF INDIA had featured the talking advertisement. That particular day’s edition of TIMES OF INDIA (Delhi edition) was split into two sections: a 26-page news section, and a 10-page wraparound.

The opening page of the wraparound carries this announcement: " THE TIMES OF INDIA and Volkswagen have created four pages of content as part of a special media innovation. Don’t miss reading and listening to this ‘speaking newspaper’.” On the last page of the wraparound is a full-page Volkswagen advertisement for its new model Vento.

As the page is opened a light-sensitive speaker—yes, a light-sensitive speaker— weighing no more than a mere 10-15 grams and stuck on the extreme left panel in the advertisement , belts out the line in a loop:

“Best in class German engineering is here. The new Volkswagen Vento. Built with great care and highly innovative features. Perhaps that’s why it breaks the hearts of our engineers to watch it drive away.

“The new Volkswagen Vento. Crafted with so much passion, it’s hard to let it go. 

“Volkswagen. Das Auto.”

Talking Press advertisement of Vento carried in TIMES OF INDIA 

THE MOVING PRESS ADVERTISEMENTS: In October 2008, to commemorate the magazine’s 75th Anniversary, Esquire published a limited edition digital cover that featured electronic ink with moving words and flashing images. In 2009, Esquire launched an augmented reality where actor Robery Dopney Jr’s avatar can be controlled using QR code barcodes printed in the magazine.

Esquire magazine Advertisement 

Marketing terms - TGIF, Pink slips, WYSIWYG, GIGO and Reverse snobbery

TGIF: Thank God It’s Friday. A small message that started flashing on the computer screens of geeks became a brand in itself. TGIF also became a sort of a build up in the offices for winding up for the week end. 

Pink Slips: The hated word has become the bye word for firing. The pink slip is the worker’s ultimate nightmare – being fired from the job without any warning and without any ceremony. It is a bang bang thank you madam!

WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get. Taken from the field of Information Technology. It means that the person gets what he sees. Nothing extra. Often cited in the service industry as the proof of delivery of what is seen and not what is imagined or perceived. One can always argue that WYSIWYG is the basic tenet of service and that the customer expects more than WYSIWYG. But in markets where WYSIWYG is not possible the delivery of What You See Is What You Get itself is seen as delivery of excellent service.

GIGO: Garbage in Garbage Out. It means that if the input is not good the output will equally be bad. In sales management this can be understood as - if the quality of selected sales people is not good, if they are not well motivated, trained and if they do not execute the sales process professionally and the output or the result which is sales is not going to be good.

Reverse snobbery is the phenomenon of looking unfavorably on perceived social elites – effectively the opposite of snobbery. For instance, poorer members of society may eventually consider themselves to be friendlier, happier, more honest or moral than richer members of the society, and middle-income members of society may stress their poorer origins.

For example when everyone starts to wear cheap ready-made suits the reverse snobs might start wearing shabby cotton or denim suits signaling that their suits are costly and are for one season only unlike cheap ready made suits that can be worn for many seasons.

World's best OOH advertisement (Hate dropped calls!)

Most people feel that television advertisements are the best when it comes to promoting the products. They feel that out of home (OOH) advertisements are to be despised and at best ignored. But Out Of Home or hoardings as they are popularly called have many advantages. 

1. OOH is the only medium that does not come to the reader. The reader has to go to the OOH. In other words the people are forced in many cases to notice them. OOHS are placed in strategic locations.
2.  OOH advertisements come with magnified appeals. The hoardings are very big in size. They are very much in the face and can attract immediate attention because of their huge size.
3.  To the bored commuters OOH come as relief. They are a source of entertainment and information.
4.  OOH is a great source of reminder advertising. The advertisement seen on the TV, read in the news paper gets reinforced with the OOH advertisement.

 But care should be taken to see that the OOH campaigns are visual in nature and topical. The best example of topical OOH advertisements is the campaign that is run by AMUL. The campaign has become so famous that people wait with baited breath to find out what is the topic that the AMUL girl will be focusing on.

Given below is one advertisement that I found on the internet. It had that Oomph appeal or the surprise element. It features people looking at a hoarding that says “Hate dropped (and next to the word dropped is a huge hole in the hoarding)”. At the base of the hoarding is the cutout of the word calls that has dropped from the hoarding to the ground. It takes a few seconds for the viewers to comprehend the advertisement which is “Hate dropped calls”. The art director has cleverly used the dropping of calls to literally drop the word itself from the hoarding to create very powerful visual imagery.

World's best advertisement for a social cause (stopping cigarette smoking)

The next in line of honor is an advertisement that I saw and remember as a student of MBA at Osmania University 26 years ago. The advertisement is given below for your perusal. This dramatic visual (hats off to the visualizer and the photographer) a study in simplistic clarity of thinking. 

It has a pistol with its magazine thrown open. Instead of six bullets there are six cigarettes. The gun is fired and one of the cigarettes is thrown out of the gun. The message is simple and clear. Cigarettes can kill and they can kill as certainly and as effectively and efficiently as a bullet that is fired from the gun.

This is one dramatic message that hits the jugular. Every smoker knows that each time he smokes he is reducing his life span by 6 minutes but the visual representation of the gun and the cigarettes brings the horrors of cigarettes smoking into the conscious mind and makes it stay right there. It will sit like a fat Sumo wrestler in the conscious mind and will pinprick the smoker conscience every time he smokes. Kudos to the creator and the advertising agency.

• Keeping to the topic of cigarette smoking I remember the discussion we had in our class of statistics in my MBA course. Our statistics professor was saying about probability and remarked that there is a very high probability of smokers getting throat cancer. One of the student objected saying that his grandfather was a smoker and that he is hale and healthy at an age of 85. He was hinting that smoking is actually good for health.
• Our Professor in statistics was a smart cookie. He said “Ravi, let us take the busiest place in Hyderabad which is Abids. And the busiest time is 1200 hours (mid afternoon). Crossing the road from one side to the other at 1200 hours at Abids is risky but mostly safe if you are cautious. What would happen if you are blindfolded and attempt to cross the road?”
• The class roared in laughter at the response as the student sullenly replied “most probably I would meet with an accident” 
• The Professor quickly added "you got it right. If your eyes are open that is if you are not smoking in most cases you will not get cancer. If you are not fortunate you might still get cancer (the case of the pedestrian crossing the road carefully but still meeting with an accident because of unruly driving or unexpected turn of events). 
• But if you are blind folded that is if you are a smoker you will most probably meet with an accident. In other words you will most probably get cancer. In very rare cases if you are lucky you might manage to reach the other  side unharmed inspite of being blindfolded. But the probability of that happening is very slim. In probability parlance your grand father is the lucky blindfolded person who dashed from one side of Abids to the other and still did not meet with an accident. Thank your stars for the good fortune”. 
• Crushed by the clever and logical explanation and suitably christened Ravi sat down.

World's best car advertisement ( Rollys Royce by David Ogilvy)

Lots of time the practicing managers especially in the field of advertising think that they need to be verbose. Frankly they are not to be blamed at all. The advertisers (read clients) often mistake that more is merrier. They think that just because they have paid for the space they expect the advertising agency to fill it up with matter, many visuals and lots of explanation. The end result the advertisements appear drab and look like news items. The beauty lies in being Spartan and frugal with words, visuals and create the feeling of space and deliver the message without any clutter. Seedhe baat dil pe hamla karre (simple words hit the heart). 

Case in point is what happened to David Ogilvy easily the most famous and recognized person in advertising throughout the world. He was given the task of creating an advertisement for Rolls Royce and try as he could he was not able to create an advertisement that won the heart of the CEO of Rolls Royce. The Rolls Royce CEO kept insisting that the advertisements were not up to the standards of Rolls Royce and that of Ogilvy himself. 

After long agonizing days and nights Ogilvy created a classic advertisement for Rolls Royce with the magical copy and headline "At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock" Of course the body copy had lots of matter but remember this advertisement was created in an another era and time. That was the time when readers had time. But in today’s world of unlimited information the readers have very little time and the advertisement has to be short and simple. Keep it Short and Simple. 

Ending on the winning side always!

There is always emphasis in management to be on the winning side. The process is not as important as winning. This is where the Japanese and the Western ethos differ. The Japanese always believe that the process is more important if not more than the winning itself. For example the process of making tea in Japan takes a whooping two hours and the side show is the process of drinking it. 

Some ways by which you can always win at any cost.

1. You could ask the other person “There is a cat in front of a cat and there is a cat at the back of the cat. Tell me how many cats are there?” If the other person says three cats, you can say two and if he says two you can say three!
2. You could ask “How many legs does a Donkey and its offspring have?” If the answer is eight say laughingly “Donkey (that is you) and your son will have four legs”. If the other person says four legs, say innocently “I never meant you. Donkey will have four legs and its son will have four. So the total is eight”
3. But in some case this type of strategy will back fire. A teacher pointed a stick at an errant student and said “at the end of the stick is the biggest fool in the world”. The student very innocently said “which end sir?”