• Brand agencies redux

    One of the ways to measure brand communication is to view it through the prisms of effectiveness and efficiency. I sometimes get the feeling that with time, mass media became more of an efficiency game. Then social technologies came along and forced the marketer to acknowledge (the forgotten) effectiveness criterion. That would explain the resistance to adoption, since communication strategy would have to change to accommodate it.

    A brand manager would ideally like a balance of both though. Meanwhile, somewhere on planet Quora, I voted up our friend Gautam Ghosh’s answer on ‘influence’. Apparently, an old HBR article (2005) had defined influence as a factor of two aspects – visibility and credibility. Considering that a brand is also aiming for influence, I found the connection between visibility/credibility and efficiency/effectiveness very interesting.

    I think the ROI debates are also a manifestation of seeking efficiency, though very few distinguish between cost and investment (I). The good news is that once tools are developed to address this, (I hope) brand custodians will focus on effectiveness too. I was very happy to read Jason Falls’ post about tools that are beginning to address scale too. (Expion and other social media tools to manage franchisee operations) While these tools would most likely scale themselves to accommodate new platforms and technologies that arise later, the bad news is that effectiveness is still something that can be judged only by someone who understands the brand as well as the platform in question.

    A quick detour. I recently started playing ‘Restaurant City’ just to get a feel of social games, and found Coke doing a pretty decent branding exercise there, that integrated well with the game mechanics and experience. The entire social gaming arena is already exploding. Farmville is passe, and Cityville is king. And that’s just one platform. How does a brand manager keep himself in the loop on all this, and experience enough to have reasonably good perspectives? So the idea of filtering experiences in multiple platforms to get perspectives on effectiveness is something I think only an agency can scale. And the more I think of this, the more I feel that this is the opportunity area for agencies – both communication (PR, Advertising) and media buying. I will state the obvious by saying that this is not likely to happen in their current avatars though. Your thoughts?

    until next time, agents of change

  • Across time.. universe

    I’ve never claimed an understanding of poetry and have never had any affection for it either, but once in a while some bits catch my attention. Verse, lyrics, any other form…

    The dawn rouses one man to acquire wealth
    Another to earn food, another to achieve greatness
    Another to sacrifices, another to his own (pursuits)
    Another to activity, and lights all men
    to their various means of maintaining life
    Ushas (dawn) has given back all the regions

    People say I’m crazy doing what I’m doing
    Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin
    When I say that I’m o.k. well they look at me kind of strange
    Surely you’re not happy now you no longer play the game

    For how long a period is it that the dawns have risen?
    for how long a period will they rise?
    Still desirous to bring us light Ushas (dawn)
    Pursues the functions of those that have gone before, and
    Shining brightly, proceeds with the others (that are to follow)

    People say I’m lazy dreaming my life away
    Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me
    When I tell them that I’m doing fine watching shadows on the wall
    Don’t you miss the big time boy you’re no longer on the ball
    Ah, people asking questions lost in confusion
    Well I tell them there’s no problem, only solutions
    Well they shake their heads and they look at me as if I’ve lost my mind
    I tell them there’s no hurry
    I’m just sitting here doing time

    Gone are the men who in the days before us
    Looked on the rising of the earlier mornings
    We, we the living now, behold her brightness
    And they come nigh who shall hereafter see her

    I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
    I really love to watch them roll

    Now the fun is, most of you would have realised that stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are Lennon’s classic ‘Watching the Wheels‘, and the rest? Stanza 1 is the Rigveda Mandala 1 Sukta 113 verse 6; stanza 3 verse 10 (both translations by H.H.Wilson) and stanza 5 verse 11 (translation by Ralph Griffith). 🙂

    until next time, more per verse 🙂

  • Webyog

    [scribd id=51587947 key=key-z8swidvs1vp8aegewij mode=list]

  • Kinara

    North Indian cuisine that’s apparently part of a famous chain in Singapore. Thanks to globalisation, we only have to travel down the Intermediate Ring Road to check it out. Loved the irony 🙂 It’s located right next to Tangerine, our favourite sizzler joint, and opposite South Indies. Here’s a map. Parking for 2 wheelers is easy, and I think they offer valet services for the additional wheels.

    The decor is quite good, a haveli style door, a chandelier, knickknacks including a silver color Buddha smiling away peacefully. They have a buffet for lunch, I think for Rs.250, so one section is almost devoted to it. There are comfortable, tucked-away tables, but they are for 4-6 people.

    The menu is seemingly expansive. You can take a look below. (click to enlarge) Enough choices for the vegetarians, and options of chicken, mutton and seafood for the non vegetarians.

    From all of that, we chose to start with the Tandoori Murgh Chaat. Although it had its fair share of vegetables – cucumber, tomato and potato, there was still enough meat in it for us to like it. The mint chutney that came along with the complimentary papads was phenomenal and served as good company for the chaat’s excellent masala too. So, this one is worth a try.

    For the main course, we asked for a Kinara Khaas Murgh and a Dum Shikampuri Kofta. The latter was not available, so we shifted to a Bhuna Ghosht. To go along with that, a Warqi Paratha and a Kashmiri Naan.

    Of all the dishes, only the chicken was worth a shout out, despite it being very similar to the regular Kadai Chicken. The mutton was more bones and pickled onions than anything else, and the ginger juliennes were missing, much like their more famous namesake. The Warqi paratha was a hardly disguised Lachcha Paratha and the Kashmiri Naan disappointed too. The quantities were sufficient for 2 people, so no complaints on that score. The service took an exceptionally long time and the food really wasn’t worth the wait.

    All of the above cost us just over Rs.900. Meanwhile, there’s something quite calming at this place. You’d have guessed by now that its not really the food. It was probably the music – old ghazals, or the lighting, but it was only the ambiance that made the wait for the food less painful. If the quality of food could match it, the place would really be worth a visit.

    Kinara, #305, 100 ft road, Indiranagar Ph: 43494349, 43494359

    Menu and Photos at Zomato

  • Social + Scale = #fail ?

    Remember the post on Social Media Explorer titled ‘Is Content Marketing the new Advertising?’ I had linked to earlier, while on the subject of content, media and distribution?

    To me, content marketing will indeed be a key player in a brand’s strategy – communication and otherwise, because with the explosion of content across various internet and even other delivery platforms, and the increasing number of stimuli that the typical consumer is subject to, sheer volume might be needed, in addition to context, and relevance.

    So, the thought then moved on to the creation of content. There are constraints to what UGC can achieve, and all brands may not have that luxury. So, what would be a good way to generate this in-house?  That’s when I looked at it from the perspective of last week’s post – on the evolution of ‘social’ as a concept and the software it entails, and the subject of how social media will scale?

    And not surprisingly, I arrived at culture. And a rewiring that will include changing roles in the various functions of the organisation. The two that come prominently to mind? HR, to not just use the tools at their disposal and hire people who have innate passion for the organisation’s domain, but also in being the torchbearer of the organisation’s new culture. Marketing, to harness this in-house talent, surface their creations – product or content or service processes, and see how it can be scaled and communicated. This would not only connect people with a common interest  internally but also empower them, make them feel responsible and enable them to communicate this to an external crowd using their own networks.

    These are only a couple of thoughts in a couple of functions, but even getting the rest of the organisation aligned around these might be a good start. More importantly, when this happens, the organisation might be then better equipped to engage with the crowd, culturally and operationally. ‘Social’ could then aim to scale.

    until next time, multiply and rule 🙂

    For those interested in the subject

    Gautham’s post on social and scale

    Social Induction, my post last week on social software and the larger purpose.

    My last few posts on social and scale – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5