Over the last few days, many enterprises and brands have put out branded communication in support of what has come to the known as the ‘Black lives matter’ campaign – with the recent riots in the US being the context. Essentially, such ads or corporate messages call for an end to racism. ‘Being silent is not an option’ and variants thereof are the most common...
Every week, I attempt to share a few creative ads which I thought were clutter-breaking and compelling, aside from some views on topics relevant to the marketing & advertising industries.. As many have said, the most important task of an advert (or any social media creative for that matter) is to be noticed. If that does not happen, everything else – a great strategy document or big...
The advertising industry had it relatively easy for many decades when media clutter was nowhere near what it is today. The media choices were limited and commercial messaging did not try too hard to be clutter breaking. Ads which were pretty direct & straightforward (‘Surf washes whitest!’) were the norm, as they did not have to fight for the consumer’s attention. In an...
For the past few weeks or so brands have attempted to create communication with the crisis triggered by COVID-19 outbreak as the context. These fall into two buckets: one expressing concern and solidarity (‘We are in this together’) and other urging consumers to follow safety guidelines such as staying home and maintaining social distance. I find the former lot a bit stretched and...
According to some estimates, brands are expected to spend $15bn on influencer marketing by 2022. But media reports also indicate that the influence of influencers in marketing circles could be waning. A brief look at the issues involved: Influencer marketing: origins and after About a decade ago when blogging was popular, automobile brands would first reveal details of a new model to that...
Another new term has entered the new age marketing & advertising vocabulary: moment marketing. It is essentially topical advertising but since turnaround times are not measured in days but in minutes it is called so, I guess. It is also a country cousin of occasion-led advertising where brands attempt to gain leverage from big news events or calendar events such as Mother’s Day, April...
Over the last few years many CEOs of business enterprises have used social media (especially Twitter) as a platform for what has come to be known as ‘personal branding’. Sure, a few of them were ‘brands’ (in a positive way) long before social media came into the picture. Platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn have offered them a stage to share their ideas, company updates, work and values. Their...
Ever wondered why save for handful of ad agency accounts, a majority of agency brands hardly use social media effectively? I am sure they know that it can be be used to strengthen the equity of the company brand but they hardly get down to ‘doing’ it. It is not a recent phenomenon. Traditionally ad agencies (especially the network agencies from India) have hardly maintained an active blog...
In India, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting recently banned airing of condom ads during daytime. The move came under criticism – ansee some reactions here, here and here. ‘It is moral policing’, ‘our kids need sex education’, ‘our kids have access to more risqué content everywhere from movies to the internet’ are some of the arguments put...
Ex-ad man. Love advertising, Apple, tech, digital, design and all things creative. VP - MarCom, @Robosoft. Views personal. See disclaimer for more.