Apple has doubled down on promoting privacy on the iPhone for years now. The benefit presented is in contrast to the Google ecosystem where advertising revenue garnered through user’s personal data is the business model. A new ad dramatises the pitfalls of the ‘other’ ecosystem in the context of health data. Privacy on the iPhone: the Waiting Room It’s quite likely that we all must have witnessed an instance of data ‘tracking’ us across the…
Jingles have been part of advertising for decades. When done well, they have the potential to create a memory hook for the brand. In India too, jingles have been popular for several decades. Consumers seem to love them – especially those from the 80s and 90s, going by the several nostalgic posts on the web & social media about ‘those were the days for great jingles’. The common characteristic of popular jingles over the years…
Ask an average 25-year old advertising or marketing professional in India if they have heard of Ravi Gupta, Mohammed Khan, Kersy Katrak, Suresh Mullick or Alyque Padamsee and chances are that responses will be in the negative. My point is this: new entrants to the field of advertising & marketing are not taught anything about the history of Indian advertising. If someone chooses to make a career in architecture wouldn’t the curriculum and the ‘system’…
An overdose of anything is not good. Does that apply to the amount of what passes of as ‘content’ put out by brands too? The word content can refer to any piece of paid or unpaid creative across platforms: TV commercials, print ads, YouTube videos, Reels & Shorts, social media posts, blogs, WhatsApp campaigns, webinars, videos culled from such events…and so on. ‘A content piece a day’ seems to be the norm. There was a…
In the late 1980s, political scientist Joseph Nye Jr. coined the term soft power. He defined it as it as a country’s ability to influence others without resorting to coercive pressure. Over the years, the term has been used to connote a country brand’s ability to create a positive perception and make it attractive in many ways. According to Masterclass, soft power can influence in five areas: business & trade, culture, education, governance and global…
In my advertising career, I have not launched or grown an ad agency brand from scratch. So I am no expert in the domain of building an agency brand. But then, such details never stopped us observers (okay, armchair critics!) about commenting on any trend. In India, there have been ad agency brands which have positioned themselves as delivering growth for ‘home grown’ or Indian brands. The questions in my mind: are the needs of…
The business of marketing & advertising is about persuasion. Brands aim to persuade consumers to change perceptions, switch brands or change habits. The various teams which make it all happen, have to persuade colleagues, seniors and partners into buying their ideas and recommendations. Such persuasion can happen through the written word (an email or memo) or talking one’s way through at meetings, discussions or through a formal presentation. When I started off in advertising, formal…
Bournvita, is a malted health drink aimed at growing children. In India, mothers of such children have been its core target audience. ‘All round development’ has been the brand’s focus for decades. My earliest memory of the brand is its association with the popular ‘Bournvita Quiz Contest’ on the radio . In the recent past the brand has invested in the campaign idea ‘Tayyari Jeet Ki’ loosely translated as ‘preparation for success’ and created some…
Advertising funds much of the media business. Even back in the pre-digital era it was acknowledged that the cover price of news papers & magazines would be prohibitively expensive for the reader. In markets like India, major dailies and magazines have been incredibly affordable. When the television industry took off, both GEC and niche channels depended on advertiser monies for support. Since the rise of internet media brands, display ads have contributed to their sustenance.…
The CEO of Bombay Shaving Company got a lot of flak for his recent LinkedIn post where he advised youngsters to ‘give it their all’ during the early, formative years in work life. What triggered everybody was the use of the phrase ’18-hour work days’. While some came out in support, even his clarifications evoked a lot of negative feedback. There is no denying that hard work is a must at any stage of one’s…