Buyer Behaviour

The New Female Consumer: The Rise of the Real Mom

2009-12-08T18:11:00.002+05:30

Read the Adage white paper on 'The New Female Consumer: The Rise of the Real Mom' here.

Consumer Learning to be wary of

2009-12-08T07:48:00.004+05:30

There's only so much we can do in influencing Jaden, as he grows up. I mean in trying to instill what we believe is polite behaviour. For example, we try and prevent any kind of whining, telling him there are things he can have and things he can't. And then out of the blue, once a while, he comes home and tries tantrums to get something he wants. At first we would be surprised at his changed tantrum strategy. Because it is out of the ordinary for him. Then we realise, he's picked the behaviour from elsewhere. Watching some other kid use the tactic on his parents. And so he learns from observing such behavior (learned termed, vicarious learning) and then tries it home.

Our task now gets harder in trying to undo what's been instilled 'from the outside'.

Consumers too get material to learn from, about brands, from two sources. One's the firm's marketing efforts and the other's the socio-cultural environment. What remains within the firm's control is its own marketing efforts, which it uses to build right perceptions and attitudes towards its brands. But then, out of the blue comes along reference groups that reek the socio-cultural environment, exhibiting behaviour that is lapped up by the consumer. Leading to consumers learning something drastically different (hopefully not) about the brand from what the firm tried to cultivate. Such learning that may run at cross-purposes from the firm's efforts can be devastating to a brand. It now becomes important for the brand to undo such 'externalised learning' to reinforce what its being saying all along with its own marketing efforts. Else, the brand may even have to take the road of no-return.

Its for this reason that PR and Publicity becomes critical for any brand. Note, advertising can only do that much. For brands to cement learning in the minds of consumers, they have to use neutral sources in the socio-cultural environment to 'seal' the message.

As for us, we can only hope Jaden picks up what's polite behaviour through vicarious learning. For we will only be able to 'undo' till a certain time, a certain age. But again, we are comforted by the fact that a healthy, inclusive, tolerant and faith-filled environment at home should be the best defence to influences from the 'outside'.

Real Men

2009-12-07T06:53:00.002+05:30

'Real men need to fight the cultural scourge of swing fashion trends. Real men are not trendy. They’re classic. No one wants to see lithe and androgynous men. And no one wants to see a man’s chest hair, either.

More important than the silly trends and those that hawk them is the underlying cultural acknowledgment. There is no dressing up capitulating, weak behavior. Pictures of President Obama catching a football or lining up a putt with Tiger Woods or shooting a basketball with his campaign logo on it will not make up for the fact that his actions are weak and scraping. While there is no question that President Bush burnished his image with cowboy boots and brush clearing, it would have rung hollow had he not had the gumption to back up the image. President Obama’s problem is that the image and the action don’t match.

Real men demonstrate manliness — not from superficial photo ops. So men, either you got it or you don’t. Showing heavage will display nothing but insecurity or a strange disconnect from what normal women find appealing. Leave fashion trends behind. Embrace the kind of masculinity that is self-evident: decisive, common-sense action. It’s not something one wears. It just is.'

- Melissa Clouthier, C’mon Guys! Please Don’t Show Us Your ‘Heavage’.

The Climate-Change Travesty

2009-12-07T06:40:00.002+05:30

'Skeptics about the shrill certitudes concerning catastrophic manmade warming are skeptical because climate change is constant: From millennia before the Medieval Warm Period (800 to 1300), through the Little Ice Age (1500 to 1850), and for millennia hence, climate change is always a 100 percent certainty. Skeptics doubt that the scientists' models, which cannot explain the present, infallibly map the distant future...

The travesty is the intellectual arrogance of the authors of climate change models partially based on the problematic practice of reconstructing long-term prior climate changes. On such models we are supposed to wager trillions of dollars -- and substantially diminished freedom.

Some climate scientists compound their delusions of intellectual adequacy with messiah complexes. They seem to suppose themselves a small clerisy entrusted with the most urgent truth ever discovered. On it, and hence on them, the planet's fate depends. So some of them consider it virtuous to embroider facts, exaggerate certitudes, suppress inconvenient data, and manipulate the peer review process to suppress scholarly dissent and, above all, to declare that the debate is over.

Consider the sociology of science, the push and pull of interests, incentives, appetites and passions. Governments' attempts to manipulate Earth's temperature now comprise one of the world's largest industries. Tens of billions of dollars are being dispensed, as by the U.S. Energy Department, which has suddenly become, in effect, a huge venture capital operation, speculating in green technologies. Political, commercial, academic and journalistic prestige and advancement can be contingent on not disrupting the (postulated) consensus that is propelling the gigantic and fabulously lucrative industry of combating global warming.'

- George Will, 'The Climate-Change Travesty'.

The Copenhagen Circus

2009-12-07T06:24:00.004+05:30

'According to the organisers, the eleven-day conference, including the participants' travel, will create a total of 41,000 tonnes of "carbon dioxide equivalent", equal to the amount produced over the same period by a city the size of Middlesbrough.

The temptation, then, is to dismiss the whole thing as a ridiculous circus. Many of the participants do not really need to be here. And far from "saving the world," the world's leaders have already agreed that this conference will not produce any kind of binding deal, merely an interim statement of intent.'

The only true saviour of the world is commerce. The hard of work of mortals (read, value creation) that ends up as goods and services that are then traded. For money that comes from earnings of another who's toiled in a similar value creating activity.

This is what's fair and noble.

Not the 'Save the World' hypocrisy of Al Gore types whose only desire is to fill their own pockets skimming off the scam they have engineered called Climate Change & Global Warming.

Spirituality ISN'T me!

2009-12-06T17:52:00.003+05:30

'Says Sri Latha, from Oneness University, “Spirituality means coming in touch with your inner truth, becoming conscious of what you truly are. Spiritual intelligence leads to emotional intelligence, which makes you a happier person.” She recommends, “We tend to block and escape emotional disturbances. Pay attention to your discomfort, probe deeper and change your own perception of the world around you.” As spirituality doubles up as pop psychology, in an “I, me, myself” world, we seem to have evolved to seeking a higher self. Says Los Angeles-based yoga guru Bikram Choudhury, “Yes, I’m the most important person for myself. If I die tomorrow, everything ceases to matter. Self-realisation is God-realisation. Spirituality is about creating a road between your mind and your own atma or soul. Spiritualism is all about learning to connect with your own spirit.” '

I am amused at the kind of hogwash that gets passed off as spirituality. I am even more amused that there can be takers for this kind of bunkum. Recommendations to get 'self-centered' is an act of selfishness, than selflessness. It only makes the spirituality-seeker even more blind to what's 'reality'. In fact the kind of 'introspection' these pop-gurus recommend can't and won't work. Simply because any act of 'looking inwards' has to be a post mortem analysis of a context or a situation.

My analysis of me has to be one where I try and decipher my own behaviour, in order to get to the bottom of what could have caused it. And my behaviour would have been exhibited during what I call a 'situation' which then becomes the 'context' for analysis. Of course, it may not always be possible for me to engage in this analysis on my own. That's when I should get into what's called therapy.

The pop guru's call to sit cross legged and zero in on your 'core being' is nothing but a whole lot of wasted time.

Business introspection too is situational. Contextual. Post mortem analysis is a must to better value delivery to consumers . To carry out such an act, the relevant business context is sequenced and studied. To see what went right or wrong. To know if a firm is part of a chain of activities that creates 'best' value for consumers. The introspection called for requires that the activities that make the chain be benchmarked against 'best-in-class' practices. A comparison to a best-in-class practice can point out what's being done right or wrong. The focus for the firm in question then becomes matching and bettering best-in-class practices.

Pop spirituality is the refuge of people who can't honestly introspect their own behaviour. Its a convenient way of bypassing what otherwise becomes the most trying of engagements. Coming face to face with one's own frailty. In the business world too, many firms put off such introspection, choosing instead to live the illusion of grandeur.

For firms, as for people, such illusions go bust. Sooner, if not later.

Does cultured mean civilised?

2009-12-05T09:42:00.005+05:30

'Indians have culture but not civilization. Culture is how we entertain ourselves; civilization is how we entertain others. Culture is our attitude to beauty and ugliness, to power, to religion, and to family. It shows in our music, in what makes us laugh. Civilization is our attitude to mankind. It’s defined as social development of an advanced stage, but civilization never actually arrives; it is only reached for. It assumes there is high purpose to life, to wealth, to culture. It believes that man will exhibit the signs of his evolution. He will improve upon man. For this he must build—but what?...

Indians should buy their books from Landmark, their phones from Tata Indicom, their television sets and washing machines from Croma; and they should stay at the Taj. They should drink Tetley tea and Himalayan mineral water. They should watch TV on TataSky and get themselves insured with Tata AIG. Why?

Last year, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust gave away Rs201 crore. Sir Ratan Tata Trust gave away Rs153 crore. This is not CSR (corporate social responsibility) or other corporate varnish: It’s pure philanthropy. Witness its quality: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tata Energy Research Institute (Teri), Indian Institute of Science, National Centre for the Performing Arts. That is civilization...

The Tatas set up Teri, India’s first green industry initiative, in 1974.

Under R.K. Pachauri, in 2003, the name Tata was neatly excised from Teri and replaced with the word “The”. Now, Teri’s magazine and website are testament to the greatness of Pachauri, who will show up to collect any award you give him, including GQ Man of the Year. But that is our culture...'

- Aakar Patel, 'Parsis have civilization; other Indians don’t.'

Everyday Miracles

2009-12-05T06:13:00.000+05:30

The Junk Science of Climate Change

2009-12-04T11:12:00.003+05:30

To all the believers in the Junk Science of Climate change; a visit to Climate-Gate is a must.

Also read, 'Fast facts about Climategate' here.

Contrived Reality

2009-12-04T10:54:00.003+05:30

'The ‘Bruce’ David Brooks celebrates is not just the self-effacing voice of our musical traditions. After all, in the rock pantheon he is ‘the Boss.’ Rather, the concerts are fully dramatized and choreographed presentations of Springsteen as the everyman oracle of this mythology, bourn on Wagnerian walls of sound. Metcalf observes, the persona is constructed, “a majestic American simpleton with a generic heartland twang,” a much refined invention, all “po-faced mythic resonance that now accompanies Bruce’s every move.”

The fanciful working class authenticity is key, the basis of the Boss’ claim on what Brooks sees as immense moral authority. Brooks quotes Landau, that there is “not a lot of irony” in Bruce’s work, which, if you have any critical distance from the fabricated character, attendant mythology, and anthemic music, is dead wrong, Otherwise, you are Metcalf’s “rock and roll naïf,” and Landau is a circus huckster.

Springsteen is not alone in constructing a persona, with its own mythology, claiming an imagined authenticity. Many among the cast of characters of the 60’s counterculture, including rock stars, were in fact middle class kids who remade their own histories and identities, which is okay so long as 40 years after Woodstock and Altamont you mention to your impressionable 15-year old kid, this is show business, these are not the real gods, this is not your real history.

But this is not likely among the blue-state elites. Rather, it is likely that Brooks’ daughter will, at an elite university, be taught a map of reality rather close to the Boss’ faux Americana. This is only too cruel, as it is also likely that today’s 15-year-olds will be asked to be stoical, to pay for all the mischief, all the self-serving boomer schemes, financial and otherwise.'

- Edward Azlant, 'David Brooks' Sentimental Education: Bruce Springsteen'.

Anxious consumers buy

2009-12-03T10:09:00.005+05:30

It was a 'horrible' news report that sent my anxiety levels sky high. A story on a tragic LPG cylinder leak that culminated in an explosion took the life of a li'l boy and had his parents badly burnt.

At home, our immediate reaction was to take a look at our own LPG cylinder usage. We replaced the old tubes used on the cylinder and the one at the stove, and changed our earlier practices of usage. We now ensure the stop-levers in and out of the house (connecting to the stove and cylinder) are shut when the stove's not in use. Plus, more importantly, we shut the valve on the cylinder, again when not in use.

Its interesting to note that anxiety levels rocket when consumers are exposed to contexts they can relate to, more so when it involves a product/brand they own or use. For example, if there's a media report on a brand of car that one owns, its more probable the owner reads it as compared to a non-owner. If one travels everyday to work, an accident on the road you travel on becomes important enough for you to seek more details. An LPG cylinder explosion, and we check our own usage practices and effect necessary changes.

Heightened levels of anxiety among consumers pose what can be termed as a 'ripe' opportunity. For a sale or an up-sale. Here's how. A death or disease in the family may remind you of your own mortality. Should you be approached by a Life Insurance agent around this time (hopefully after the mourning's over), the chances you pick a policy is extremely high. Read a story on a car crash caused by worn out tyres, chances you think about replacing your car's tyres is pretty high. Should a dealer get in touch at such times, you'd me more than willing to go with his recommendation of a brand of tyres.

Now I know it isn't easy to know when consumers are being subject to heightened levels of anxiety, at least on an individual basis. But its possible to generalise that anxiety should there be a mass communique (read, media report) that you believe can spread that anxiety around. In such cases, capitalise and communicate your brand as a solution. The chances of a sale will surely be high.

Read the report on how two Indian brands tapped into flu anxiety with immunity claims in their communiques.

What's common to IIMs & Tiger Woods?

2009-12-02T11:23:00.007+05:30

Lousy PR.

It didn't matter that one's a set of top ranking B-Schools in India and the other's the top ranked golfer in the world. Both reacted to crisis in a downright amateurish manner.

The 'crashed' servers at CAT exam are being attributed to virus attacks. A claim that's being pooh-poohed by industry experts. In fact, cyber experts say pinning the blame on a virus attack may have worsened things for applicants. Cyber experts opined that the official explanation of a virus would open the doors for students to question the exams and approach courts to have it cancelled. In addition, the Press Conference addressed by the IIM-A director too was nothing to write about. Lame answers delivered in a fashion I call, amateurishly defiant.

Tiger Woods too reacted no better. He's clammed up fuelling even greater speculation. The Drudge Report had his crash as headlines for two days running. Allegations of an affair surface. And now it seems two women have lined up, and are set to go public with claims that they had affairs with him. Tabloids on both sides of the Atlantic desperately seek New York nightclub hostess, Rachel Uchitel, as she's supposed to be the 'woman in question'. The whole drama swirls amidst Tiger Woods' silence. More so I'd say, due to his 'silence'.

Publicised crisis requires that brands handle them deftly. Deftly means, one, react as quickly as possible. Delays paint the party in question as guilty or as trying to cover up. Two, Respond. Its a must to, unless its felt 'silence' is better; that staying mum will ensure the story 'dies'. And when responses are given, its imperative that they are well thought out, and choreographed to perfection. Send in the most convincing, credible people with strong communication skills. Not amateurs with degrees.

Note what Larry Kudlow writes in his 'open' letter to Woods; 'But in your case, if there is no alcohol, drugs, or infidelity, and if there is a better-sounding, truthful explanation of your events, you’ve gotta get out there and say it. As you know, your clean, serious, sober, near-perfect, golden-boy bloom is already off the rose. And if you insist on stonewalling, from now on it’s damage limitation. And that will be no fun at all. Your bottom will be lower than anything you ever imagined.

Fans love the way you play, and so do I. Sunday afternoons are a treat watching you. But you’re in a heap of trouble right now. Stonewalling, whether in business or politics, seldom pays.

C’mon Tiger. Be a mench. Fess up and clear the air. If you do it soon, you will be forgiven, and this too will pass.'

Now, that's great advice, but I can't help but add mine. To the IIMs; get yourselves a PR agency. Pronto. To Tiger, if your PR agent advised you to stay mum, fire the guy/agency and get a more sensible one. Pronto again.

Consumer Anxiety is as much, post purchase

2009-12-01T15:47:00.004+05:30

I remember placement time when I was at the verge of graduation. The year was 1993. I recall the anxiety that went all around before 'placement', as much as after placement. That is, we were anxious before the placement process started, and once we were selected, we still talked about how it would be with the company we were about to join.

The point to note here, is the post-placement psyche. It didn't matter we were placed. It was now about the choice we made of the company that would be our future workplace. Was it the right one, we wondered? More so, for students who weren't joining Day Zero recruiters. The reinforcement that they sought revolved around speaking about the company they were about to join, with whoever cared to listen. And in that conversation the selected student would try and point out how fortunate he was to be able to work for the particular company.

In Behavioural terms, such an 'act' is termed 'rationalisation'. And it isn't limited to colleges and students.

Marketers ought to recognise that consumer anxiety isn't restricted to a pre-purchase scenario. Post purchase too, anxiety levels rise. About whether the choice made was the right one. Especially if the product in question is a high-involvement one with considerable purchase risk. Consumers react to this anxiety by engaging in four kinds of responses. One, they rationalise the decision as a wise one. They talk about it, the way it happens after placements. Two, they may seek advertisements that support their choice and avoid those of competitor brands. Three, they may attempt to persuade friends or people they know to buy the same brand, and thus confirm their choice. And, four, they may turn to other satisfied owners for reassurance.

The lesson in here for marketers is one of post purchase communiques. As much as brands use pre-purchase communiques to pilot buys, post purchase ones too are needed to reduce welling up anxiety. In a corporate recruitment scenario, this post purchase communique could be a mail sent to the recruited students stating how pleased the company is to have them and how much they look forward to the students joining and building a successful career with them.

The delusion in 'Buy Nothing Day'

2009-12-01T14:28:00.004+05:30

'Without the West’s ‘irresponsible’ consumption habits, developing countries would be a lot worse off. Without the soulless global corporations sucking at the pool of cheap labour, many ‘exploited’ workers would have no job at all. Workers wages help them to feed and clothe their family, and boost the income of those around them. Also, those in developing countries acquire new skills and technology that can be used to aid development. The success of the Tiger Economies show that working with a Western economic system is better than rallying against it.

Moving towards a culture of Buying Nothing will also do zilch to address climate change. Consumption leads to the creation of wealth; and increasing wealth is exactly what is needed to deal with the issue. Buying Something leads to the creation of new, better, cheaper and cleaner products. Created wealth is invested in things such as green technology and research into geo-engineering projects. Without an economic system that relies on consumption, we would be sitting in the dark and cold, paying penance for our forefather’s environmental ignorance.

Encouraging a decline in consumption is deluded, dangerous and thankfully impossible. The promise of rediscovering the true you from a day of suppressed spending is utterly daft; our economic system has evolved because it is best at serving our needs and desires. AdBusters claim that if you persist in your sacrifice of shopping “you will transcend – perhaps reaching the kind of epiphany that can change the world.” However, all that would be transcended would be all sense of reason. The rejection of a consumption-based economy would change the world, but for the worse.'

- Charlotte Bowyer, 'Buy Nothing Day' (Adam Smith Institute Blog)

The Loo's a pointer to the Kitchen

2009-12-01T13:59:00.003+05:30

I shudder going to cloakrooms (read, loo) at most restaurants. Because what I see may put me off. Not just would it kill my appetite, it would even get me off that restaurant. I leave, possibly never to return.

Why? Because I make judgements about cleanliness of the kitchen based on what I see in the loo. Again, why? Isn't in unfair to judge a kitchen I don't see, based on a loo I see? Shouldn't an evaluation of the serving area (diner) be the base to my judgement? That is, if the restaurant serving and seating area's clean, surely the kitchen must be?

The answer to that is comparable to what's said about character. 'Character is what you do when no one's looking'. Similarly cleanliness is about keeping clean, those areas that may not be termed a 'primary' contact point. The serving area in a restaurant is the primary point of contact. Its but natural that the staff keep it clean. The loo is only an 'allied' area. The staff may not be find it as necessary to keep it clean. But how wrong they are. If the loo were to be clean, in all probability, I for one will take the kitchen, which is an 'invisible' area as clean. The same inferences however cannot drawn from the cleanliness of the serving area.

Too many times, firms focus on what's a 'front-end', assuming that's what drives judgements. But customers are clever. They may be on the lookout for a glimpse of what's a 'back-end' in your business. Their perceptions on quality is more driven by how the back-end performs rather than the classic front-end.

Tell you what, wanna know if a restaurant's clean? Check the glasses on the table, the sauce bottles and the cruet set. If they are, chances are you're sitting in a clean area. Now check the loos. If clean, relax, enjoy your meal. If your 'checks' on the table and in the loo don't leave you satisfied, I'd say, scoot.

Or stay, suffer the consequences.

Fiction fuels Reality

2009-11-30T15:31:00.001+05:30

'First of all, most fiction is not just fiction, and this is certainly true of Twilight. Fantasy aside, fiction still communicates ideas, values, and messages, and these in turn, affect the day-to-day activities of readers and movie watchers. Throughout The Twilight Saga, both Edward and his family, and some werewolves too, are depicted as living absolutely awesome, exciting lives. The "coolest" thing is that they all have specials powers beyond average mortals. It is this lure of power, and the promise of it, that tempts real teenagers and adults today to explore the mysterious world of occultism.

They're doing it now, in record numbers.

- Steve Wohlberg, 'The darkness of Twilight: Hidden perils behind today's vampire craze'.

Is Brand aviodance anti-Brand?

2009-11-30T12:05:00.003+05:30

Brand avoidance supposedly is a phenomenon where consumers choose to stay away from established brands, to move to a 'local' establishment even if the 'movement' means a rise in price. Its so done as consumers are beginning to 'worry about the larger social and economic impact of brands'.

Does that mean we are seeing the beginning to the end of brand domination? This should have Naomi Klein delirious with joy. But I say, bunkum. Consumers don't care for anything other than themselves. The supreme quest for any consumer is to maximise personal payoffs through acts of consumption. And just so you know, there's nothing wrong with it. In fact, its their love for themselves that's good for society in general, because it propels consumption. Consumers spend, so they can better themselves, in turn generating income for others to spend.

Consumers moving to 'local' shouldn't be looked at as an anti-brand act. Instead it should seen as a lesson to brands that their duplication of a standardised format breeds fatigue. It makes consumers seem as if they are part of a faceless, nameless herd that tramps into such formats. It seems to them as if there's a loss of identity.

The cycle of brand to non-brand to brand is only to be expected. Right now in the US, its brand to non-brand. In developed countries, brands have hit the 'fatigue' wall. Not so in developing countries where brands are making their entry. The 'move' in such places is non-brand to brand. Brands are sought. Non-brands are abandoned.

Its like what's happening to malls. In the US, they're kickin' the bucket, in India, that's where everyone is.

Throw the boor offstage

2009-11-29T18:46:00.005+05:30

Alphy flipping channels, with me taking a peek saw the screen fill up with an award function. Cyrus Broacha seemed to be in charge of 'announcements'. The supply side scarcity that I mentioned in the post below seems to be true for comedy too. In India

The guy is worse than horrible. But I guess he gets away with his brand of disgusting humour thanks to the concept of 'supply scarcity'. Guess we have only the likes of such boors around. But then again, I take comfort in the fact that I have the POWER! To change channels. To log on to SNL online and watch what I call real comedy.

I wish more Indians do that. Because then we can finally throw the boors off stage.

'Regulated' Quality ain't 'real' Quality

2009-11-29T18:20:00.004+05:30

That the servers crashed on the first day of the CAT shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, Murphy's law has a way of sneaking in. But the fact that there is still a horde of aspirants (note, there's been a drop in CAT registrations this year) looking to get into the IIMs should be of concern. Because it points to an artificial supply side scarcity when it comes to Post Graduate business education in India.

In defence one can say that the 'horde' is a pointer to top quality education services being offered. But tell you what, in a regulated environment, competition-driven quality is hard to come by. The 'quality' available for purchase is thanks to government driven regulation. In fact, the ones that rule the roost do so in manners, unchallenged.

Change that and you will have even better quality to products and services for consumers. That includes Post Graduate business education. And for once there won't be the hordes 'pining' to write an exam, and surely, there won't be a media screeching about server crashes.

Dept. of No Energy vs. Mark Levin

2009-11-28T13:21:00.001+05:30

Is the Shorba thin, or grainy?

2009-11-28T12:17:00.007+05:30

'The Dal Shorba, which came first, was refreshing but once I began sipping on it, a bit of the grainy texture typical to pulses hit my palate. I reckon they could have made it a bit thinner for the right consistency'.

Well, that's a food critic writing in DNA newspaper about the soup served at Lobby Cafe in Bangalore. So, should the shorba go thinner?

I think not. Drop it any thinner and you will have idiots fuming as to why they have to pay a bomb for flavoured water. This is classic 'food dilemma'. Should the shorba stay grainy, upsetting the likes of a food critic, or go thinner, risking being labelled gutter water?

The answer is, the critic and idiots can got to the blazes. So can 'purist' authentic food. It ain't about either of them or about authenticity. Its about who your target consumer is and what he wants. If he wants the damn shorba thin, oblige. If he wants it grainy, repeat the former.

Critics are paid to say what they have to (or maybe they aren't). But I can tell you, they haven't the foggiest of idea about how products and services are sold. In the 'real' world, what sells, is what customers want. So figure that out and give it to them. Even if it means doing the 'classic' shorba to death!

Parallel Universes

2009-11-28T09:49:00.001+05:30

'Fakery and chutzpah, ruthlessness and greed, made an amazing emirate and a £30-million human brand. Both dazzled, confused and glinted with moral ambiguity. The world approved of neither, but at least they were better than the alternative. Dubai was built by migrant Indians and Bangladeshis, virtual slaves, passports confiscated, living in distant labour camps, who frazzled and fainted with heatstroke off the sides of the Sheikh’s skyscrapers...

Dubai is to freedom what Jordan is to feminism. She might represent the worst excess of porn culture, a sad and sordid role model for womankind. But you can’t deny she’s rich. She’s one sister who’s done it for herself...'

- Janice Turner, 'Jordan and Dubai, parallel universes collide'.

China in your hand

2009-11-28T08:42:00.000+05:30

Look the part, Learn from a stumble

2009-11-27T10:32:00.005+05:30

I think it funny. I guess, others think so too. That a couple of aspiring reality-TV stars from Northern Virginia crashed the White House’s state dinner Tuesday night. They got through layers of security with no invitation, to mingle with the likes of Vice President Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Smart. Funny too.

The lesson in their 'breakthrough' is twofold. One, that if you appear classy and confident, the best are fooled and convinced that you must be someone big. That you should be let through. Two, even the best systems in the world are susceptible to a clever someone who knows exactly how those systems work and react to 'incidents'. The clever uns know if they play the 'pretend' part to perfection, systems lose their ability to detect something's amiss. Of course, in the long run, fake will be out. But till it lasts, its so much fun.

Brands too must always put up that 'confident face' to consumers. If brands appear the part, consumers believe. Again, I am in no way suggesting that its enough to get the 'appearance' right and fail when it comes to product evaluations. What I am emphasising is, its important to get perceptions right with consumers.

Brands must also know that mavericks (read, a consumer or a competitor) may emerge out of the woodwork to upset their applecart. Its wise then to leave the maverick be, and to learn from the stumble, to strengthen the system. Going after the 'deviant' would mean bad press. Staying quiet and learning, is the better option. Its best for Apple to leave its iPhone hacker kid alone. Taking the legal route only makes Apple look bad and kid look the victim.

Summing up, these are the lessons. Look & Learn. Look the part. Learn from a stumble.

Pic: msnbc

Then & Now, and Toys

2009-11-27T10:02:00.001+05:30

'Personally, I think a child needs two dolls - so that they can go on adventures together - a pencil, and a notepad. That's it. Everything else is decadent Western corruption. When I was a child, we made our own amusements: drinking vinegar pretending it was whisky, flooding the garden with a hose, spitting contests. Punching each other really quite hard. Permanently mentally disturbing each other with constant, low-level psychological warfare. We didn't have Hannah Montana wigs, or Pixel Chix, or, or ... Puppies In Our Pockets. We made bows and arrows out of Rosebay Willowherb (that were rubbish), glue out of flour and water (that was wholly ineffective) and papier mache objects that, for some reason, never really dried out, and rotted on the windowsill, emitting horrible, oddly turnip-y odours.

That's why I want to - throw all the kids toys away! Genuinely. Well, everything except the Polly Pockets and Barbies, which they play with very nicely, and the dollshouse, which Dora has recently re-wallpapered very nicely. Everything else - off to the charity shop. There's so much that the kids don't have a clue what they've got, and it's always all over the floor. If they only had three things each, they could just neatly place them on an otherwise empty shelf at the end of the day- like Laura Ingalls Wilder used to, with her paper dollies - and the house would, finally, be tidy.'

- Caitlin Moran, 'These kids have TOO MANY SODDING TOYS'.