13th article published in HANS INDIA (9th August 2014). It is an article titled "How the Manufacturer Sold tooth powder in the USA""

13th article published in HANS INDIA  (9th August 2014). It is an article titled "How the Manufacturer Sold tooth powder in the USA"

OMG (Oh My God) - The advertisement duration is down to five seconds - When the things get tough - the TOUGH have to get going!

I was at home watching the Television when I saw the new advertisement by Horlicks "for the first time in 100 years of its existence, Horlicks introduces a new chocolate flavored instant Drink'. The voice over got my attention. 

Very interesting concept. The world has moved towards instant gratification and Horlicks had to take cognizance. The customer no longer has the patience nor the time needed to wait for water to get boiled and mix Horlicks. Instant Horlicks is more fast, mix it directly with water or milk.

To drive home the concept of instant gratification Mindshare  the advertising agency deployed a unique strategy.

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk and added a 5-sec tag that preceded the original commercial. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this advertisement. 

This is brilliant conceptualization and even more brilliant understanding of Consumer Behaviour. Online customers tend to be impatient and hardly watch any advertisements. They do watch - only if they are compelled. Most of us automatically search for any videos first at YouTube and wait impatiently for the first five seconds of the advertisement to play out before skipping the later part of the advertisement (the first five seconds of the advertisement has to be watched compulsorily before one can watch the interested video). By putting it in the first five seconds Horlicks is ensuring eyeballs. Brilliant concept and brilliant execution.

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

Mindshare has used the 5 second skip button of YouTube to highlight the brand proposition – Chocolate Horlicks mixes instantly in milk – and hence decided to add a 5-sec tag that preceded the original TVC. The tag reads – ‘Instant Chocolate Horlicks -mixes in milk even before you skip this ad.’ - See more at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2014/06/mindshare-creates-youtube-ad-for-instant-chocolate-horlicks/#sthash.R4jkRk1t.dpuf

5th article published in HANS INDIA - 'Think out of the box, think about your customer'

5th article published in Hans India (14th June 2014). The title of the article is " Think out of the box, think about your customer".

Samoa Airlines - the first Airline in the world to sell the flight tickets by the kilo!

 Samoa Airlines is the first Airline in the world to sell the flight tickets by the kilo!

According to the Samoa Airlines web site this how it works…

The customer has to give Samoa his weight… within a kilo or two would be fine, then tell Samoa how much baggage he wants to take, the customers can take as many bags as he likes but has to give Samoa the intended total of his baggage in kilos (a kilo is 2.2 pounds)

 The Samoa system will add all of this together and charge by the kilo against the sector fare and that will be the customer’s total airfare. On payment the customer will have a page to download and bring with him when he checks in.

If the customers are traveling as a group and paying as one then follow the same process for each member and again the system will add all the weights and calculate the total cost based on the kilo rate for the sector. 

How does this help the customer: By knowing the weights Samoa can make some arrangements for the best seat for the customer for ease of travel and get customer more leg room and a more spacious seating.  Samoa will weigh everything.

Logic of paying by weight: An Aircraft can only provide a certain amount of weight on each and every sector for Samoa to sell, so Samoa’s commodity is weight!

Samoa gears its price per kilo by working it to pay for the sector and its objective is to carry the full payload – and give everyone equal comfort and to maximize its efficiency so it can offer lower rates.  

So the more Samoa know about actual weight the more efficient it can be at reaching the target then thus bringing its cost per kilo down and the benefit can be passed to the customer. The Benefit is the best price Samoa can deliver for anyone needing to send weight (either cargo or passengers) on any of its sectors.  

Samoa know that weight in advance so it can place the customer or aleast it can try to get the customer space and a seat which is comfortable and Samoa can do that by removing seats, increasing pitch between rows, and leaving areas unoccupied – and if the customer can nominate a companion Samoa know their weight and it can try to give the customer the combination they deserve… and for the larger and heavier customers Samoa will try to give ample space. 

Benefits for families: no more paying for seats for the kids at adult seat fare prices or half adult seat fare prices.  Total up their individual weights and the children get their seats at the same per kilo rate as everyone else on the aircraft pays.  

About cargo or unaccompanied baggage: With Samoa the customer can book the cargo onto any particular flight. Cargo rates are the same as passenger rates because a kilo…is a…kilo.. The only addition to cargo fees is if an item is in need of special handling then an appropriate fee is added. 

Samoa wants to reinvent ways to make air travel a new experience. 

Dreamers Media Will Pay the customer’s Car EMI

Dreamers Media and Advertising has launched an interesting scheme for Out Of Home (OOH) advertising. The company will pay the EMI of the car which the customer buys through them, in return the customer will have to allow Dreamers to run advertisements.

All of us have seen radio taxis with advertisements  on them, which helps the taxi companies in boosting profits. Dreamers is trying to do is quite a similar thing and this can benefit those who don’t care much about what the exteriors of their cars says or has on it.

So how does it work? The customer decides a car he wants to buy (up to a maximum of Rs. 6 lakhs) and pay 25% as down payment on the 5 year loan. The car will be brought through Dreamers who will then pay the first three years EMI on the vehicle. The remaining 2 years EMI will have to be paid by the customer. Any one who travels a minimum of 1500 kms a month is eligible. The company will cover 40 to 60% of your car’s exterior with advertisements and the customer has to keep your car clean and not tamper with the stickers or VTS (a device which tracks how many kmshave been driven by the customer)

Dreamers Media and Advertising is targeting customers from middle income group who have an annual income of less than Rs. 10 lakhs. The stickers used on the vehicle will be Vinyl printed using eco solvent inks. Clarity about other terms like in cases of dents and accidents as to who will bear the cost of replacing the stickers is still not clear .

The scheme is open all India. A 24×7 call center has been put in place to ensure smooth functioning of the system. The company is betting big on higher budgets from advertisers, increasing commuting distance and decreasing penetration of newspapers and television. A turnover of Rs. 150 crores is being targeted in the first fiscal.

So what is the benefit? Let’s take the  Honda Brios MT for example. The vehicle costs Rs. 5.55 lakhs (on-road, Mumbai). The ex-showroom price is Rs. 4,89,425/-. Thus 25% down payment will be 1,22,356/-. The pending amount which will be the loan which is Rs. 3,67,069/-. Thus the EMI will be Rs. 8064/- at an interest rate of 12% (Dreamers might get lower interest rate as they will be having higher volumes). Thus Dreams will end up paying Rs. 2,90,304/- and the remaining two years EMI will be Rs. 1,93,536/-. So in total, the customer will end up paying Rs. 3,81,584/- for a Rs. 5.55 lakh car. The customer’s saving will be Rs. 1,73,416/- although he will really end up saving Rs. 2.90 lakhs since the interest payment is there whether you opt for this scheme or not.

There are very few cars which fit in this scheme since most cars go above Rs. 6 lakhs in price. A diesel car will be easier to live with since your minimum running has to be 1500 kms a month.

I have many doubts about this scheme

1.   Will people like this idea?

2.      Will you like being a part of a big advertisement?

3.      What if the company where you are working is a competitor for the company advertised on the car?

4.      What if the general public mistakes youas a representative of the company being advertised and asks you for a demonstration and for free samples?

5.      They might think of you as a travelling salesman?

6.      The general public might think that you are a part of a cab company?

7.      How would the car be taxed - as a private vehicle or a commercial vehicle? 

1.      

Drones Delivering Pizzas

Ann Arbor based Domino’s Pizza recently made headlines when the company’s independent U.K. franchisor released a YouTube video of a drone delivering pizzas.

A one-minute video featuring the “DomiCopter” flying over fields, trees, and homes to deliver two pizzas has become hugely popular .

 The story   made national and international news, appearing on websites for CNNMoney, US News and World Report and several other media outlets. Despite the interest, the DomiCopter won't be put to regular use. The project was a one-time deal, according to Danny Bowles, spokesman for Domino’s Pizza Group in the U.K.

“At Domino’s we’re always looking to innovate and find new ways to deliver our pizza and a DomiCopter could fit the bill perfectly,” Simon Wallis, Domino’s Pizza UK/Ireland sales and marketing director, said in a statement. “We are the number one pizza delivery company and we are committed to staying in that position. We had a lot of fun putting the video together. It would be great to think that one day pizzas could fly!”

British creative digital agency T + Biscuits worked on the project. The company said it’s received many inquiries on when people may get pizzas delivered by drone.“You will have to just wait and see…. and then wait,” T + Biscuits.

Chris Brandon, spokesman for Domino’s U.S. business, said there are no plans to use drones here."We heard about the promotion, likely, at the same time you did -- and it does not involve our U.S. stores," he said in an email.

Alive App - Innovation in Print Media - Times of India shows the way

 

 

 

Things are changing and so are the customers. Keeping the changing times and keeping in view of possibility of dwindling readers and reduced advertising revenue Times of India has hit upon a novel idea. To attract the young and restless Times of India launched a new application called Alive.
 
Alive would let the reader view videos, photos, and polls related to a news item  just by pointing the app at a newspaper item with Alive logo. This app is available for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Nokia Symbian Smartphones and would offer a captivating experience for the users than just reading a newspaper.

The app has crossed 250,000 downloads on the launch day, leading to 300,000 augmentation views on a single day. Augmentation view is a view where the reader would have seen the news on the physical newspaper and would have tracked the same from his Alive app. The readers can also head to aliveapp.in from their mobile phone to download the app.

Benefits of Alive app

Transforms text, image, symbols, patterns or objects into a virtual experience

View videos and picture gallery of the actual news items in the newspaper

Voice your opinion immediately and make the newspaper more interactive;

Make the best use of two media that is the reliability and credibility of the newspaper and the multimedia capacity of the internet with moving pictures sound and animation.

Keep track of the story as it develops and not a static news item as in a traditional newspaper

Share the newspaper news item on the go

View history of the news items you have viewed

Save the multimedia content for future viewing

 

 

Best Technology based innovations in marketing in the last ten years - Part II

6) Retargeting: Browsing the internet, many browers do feel that the advertisements for a particular company or brand keep following them from site to site. For marketers, retargeting provides a more intelligent way to run display advertising for prospects they might otherwise miss once the potential buyer moves away from their website.

7) Location Based Marketing: Local search, mobile device adoption, QR codes, online commerce all helps lead marketers to the concept of location based marketing. The integration of GPS allows for the accurate detection of a specific location, and mobile computers allow interactive media to be linked, for users to access data.

The small business is getting invested in location based media. According to Google, 20% of all searches are related to location.

8) Video: Technology innovation has made the internet more accessible and faster for the end user. 68 percent of households have broadband in the United States. “Broadband penetration” is now treated as a key economic indicator.

High speed internet has made video more accessible to the masses. According to comScore, in December 2010, 178 million people watched 33.2 billion videos, with the average viewer watching 187 videos per month in the U.S. In August 2010.

9) User Generated Content: The ability for the user base to create the content that drives website presence has taken off with the emergence of social media. Entering mainstream usage in 2005, almost every major site online has some form of user generated content (UGC) function in today’s marketplace, even if it is only a component of the organizations online presence. The ability to enable user generated content is the foundation for sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter to become so successful.

10) Mobile Device Technology: The evolution of mobile device technology completely changed marketing scenario. The adoption of smart phones, tablet computers, and other mobile devices will continue to grow. Already in India there are more than 650 million cell phones and that is a penetration of nearly 65% of the total population. India now has more cell phones than public toilets.

Mobile device adoption must become a priority in B2C and B2B marketing strategy. We are in the cusp of a complete shift in how people will consume information.

Best Technology based innovations in marketing in the last ten years - Part I

Marketing is talked about as a live science. There are continuous innovations being tried out. Let us discuss some technology based innovations that are creating a Tsunami of change in the way the art of marketing is being practiced or will be practiced in the future.

1) 1-to-1 Personalization: 1-to-1 marketing (personalization) refers to marketing strategies applied directly to a specific consumer. With four main steps in the process (identify, differentiate, interact and customize), organizations like Amazon, Nike, and Dell all leverage one-to-one marketing campaigns in their overall marketing mix.

2) Gamification: Beyond Angry Birds and Farmville, the concept of gamification refers to the use of game design techniques to solve problems and engage audiences. When one shares something in places like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, by way of the “progress buttons” illustrating the number of shares and likes it is gamification. Additional methods of gamification that have become more widely adopted include Achievement “badges”, “leader boards” and virtual currency

The concepts within gamification tactics are getting more heavily integrated in employee recognition programs, wellness adoption programs, and even project management tools.

3) Group Buying: Group buying, also known as collective buying, might have been around for centuries, but widespread internet adoption has allowed group buying sites like Groupon and LivingSocial to thrive in today’s marketplace. Group Buying offers products and services at significantly reduced prices on the condition that a minimum number of buyers would make the purchase.

4) Social Networking: Facebook and LinkedIn lead a growing number of public and private social networking communities, attracting all forms of networking, from purely personal to specific interests. When Google+ opened to the public last week, traffic was up 1,269% in one week, making the site the eighth largest social network on the Internet. The Google+1 button is being served 2.3 billion times a day all over the web.

5) Inbound Marketing:  “inbound marketing is the use of inbound customer interactions as an opportunity to cross-sell and upsell products and services.”

The most concrete example of inbound marketing success came from the 2008 presidential race, when Barack Obama’s Internet Marketing strategist Chris Hughes leveraged blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and more social media platforms, to help build Obama’s campaign, and ultimately winning the Democratic Presidential nomination and election. 

Masters of Customer Service - Southwest Airlines - Part - II

One year Southwest was challenged by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to change its funny on board announcements as they felt people were not taking the safety messages seriously. Southwest argued back that to the contrary, it felt that because it infused humor into the typically rote, boring announcements, that people listened more. The FAA finally agreed and dropped the issue.

Southwest created a dollar bill with Herb Kelleher’s (CEO of Southwest) picture in the center and sent these Herb Bucks to its most frequent fliers, asking that if they saw a Southwest Employee going above and beyond the expected service, they give them an Herb Buck. At the end of the program the Employees would be able to purchase items from a catalog with the Herb Bucks.

The program was so popular that within weeks Southwest’s Customers were calling asking for more Herb Bucks. They were having a great time, and it was a great way to tie  Customers to employee recognition program. Customers often were featured in Southwest onboard magazine, “Spirit,” such as the lady who attended law school in Lubbock and flew back and forth twice a week on Southwest to attend class. Southwest also featured Chuy’s Restaurant when it announced that they only opened new restaurants in cities served by Southwest due to Southwest’s low fares.

To remind it to consider the Customer, Southwest created the committees to review operational failures. The rule of thumb was the employees have to ask themselves “if my Mom had been on board, would I be happy with the way she was treated?” Southwest keeps an empty chair in marketing meetings to remind itself to consider the Customer.

Frequently, Employees were given $25 coupons and asked to recognize any Customer doing something nice. One scenario often repeated was a young mother and child boarding late. Because they were the last to board, many times there were no seats together.

The flight attendant would make an announcement asking if any passenger would be willing to move so the mother and child could sit together. Somebody always volunteered. The flight attendant would then seek them out during the flight and thank them for their kind deed by giving them a $25 coupon good towards their next flight. They were always pleasantly surprised.

For many years employees of Southwest got their paychecks with the message “Provided by our Customers” to remind the employees of the Customers’ importance. Anytime the words Customer or Employee were written, they were always capitalized to stress the importance of both.

These Customer service principles are generic enough that most companies can implement them. It’s not rocket science, rather its common sense. The Golden Rule…putting yourself in others shoes, being nice…seemingly simple concepts that smart companies like Southwest realize keeps them at the top of their game.