The news out today is that the body that regulates web addresses (ICANN) will now allow web addresses that can be in scripts other than Latin or what we commonly know as English letters. Also out is another news that in Maharashtra it is going to be mandatory for all commercial establishments to put up bold Marathi signage on store fronts.
While the world is beginning to accept that language must be a matter of personal choice and no boundaries must be put on it, here at home we have decided that the only way for our people to achieve regional identity is to curb their use of language.
There can be little doubt that a language spoken by a majority of the region’s population should be used for as much of the official correspondence and in Government offices as possible, but surely all commercial establishments should have the liberty to choose how they project themselves? The whole idea behind storefront signage is to inform customers about the business. So if an establishment felt that it would lose business by not having signage in the local language it would ignore that fact at its peril. If the shopkeeper felt it would improve his business no Government dictate would be needed to put up shop signs in Marathi or any other language that the shop keeper felt necessary.
Unfortunately this drive by MNS and like has very little to do with their love of the language or their concern for the average Marathi speaking person. It is just another tool they are using to stir up a people who are looking to find their place under the sun. Yes, regional identity is one part of the over all identity of a person. But the MNS would do much better to use the resources it has to push its followers to better educate themselves and eradicate such social evils as drinking, gambling and lack of education- all of which are a far greater of cause of poverty and misery than the lack of Marathi signage.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Innovation will always be the best weapon
“ It is impossible to break through all the clutter and noise”, this is what most frustrated marketers feel and genuinely face every day. And added to this is the fact that consumers these days have access to several un-official yet strong networks of information such as social networking sites, forums and blogs. In this kind of an environment what is a marketer to do? Well the answer is the same as has been since the beginning of commerce- innovate.
And this is precisely what marketers of goods and services are doing in India now more than ever before. Co-branding, in-programming product placement, cross promotions have suddenly seen a spurt. Gone are the days of the vanilla media plan where you bought ad space and air time and hoped to God that the viewers would catch your ad and not switch to another channel at the flick of their remote’s button. The need of the hour is to find a greater emotional re-connect with the consumer and communicate in a way that it is perceived more as a recommendation than an advertisement.
Keeping this in mind many television channels are cashing in on a new asset. They have realized that there is a deep emotional connect between their audience and the characters of their favourite television shows. So when Star Plus wanted to launch its new serial “Sabki Ladli Bebo” it placed mentions of it in its already popular “Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai”. The same channel also regularly promotes its live award events using its existing fiction series. Similarly Zee TV recently promoted its finalists of “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs” in an innovative yet awkward episode of “12/24 Karol Bagh” which is already growing in popularity.
These kinds of promotions are not limited to television serials alone. Lux just launched its new range with beauty oils. And while they roped in India’s first cine-couple (Ash and Abhi) to do the regular commercials, they also have all the doe-eyed leading ladies of their most popular soaps selling it to all the beauty hungry young girls of the country.
Faced with an ad crunch even the print industry is being pushed into innovation. Femina, a leading women’s weekly, tied up with HUL to cross-promote a range of its products this festive season. The idea of course being that the promotions would be perceived more as an unbiased recommendation by the publication than a push by the manufacturer and the consumer product manufacturer would promote the Femins name in reciprocation. Thereby crossing the boundaries of the usual promotion.
Only time will tell how succesful these tactics are. But they sure indicate a mature marketing environment where the marketers are not caving in but using innovation to reach out to the consumer.
And this is precisely what marketers of goods and services are doing in India now more than ever before. Co-branding, in-programming product placement, cross promotions have suddenly seen a spurt. Gone are the days of the vanilla media plan where you bought ad space and air time and hoped to God that the viewers would catch your ad and not switch to another channel at the flick of their remote’s button. The need of the hour is to find a greater emotional re-connect with the consumer and communicate in a way that it is perceived more as a recommendation than an advertisement.
Keeping this in mind many television channels are cashing in on a new asset. They have realized that there is a deep emotional connect between their audience and the characters of their favourite television shows. So when Star Plus wanted to launch its new serial “Sabki Ladli Bebo” it placed mentions of it in its already popular “Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai”. The same channel also regularly promotes its live award events using its existing fiction series. Similarly Zee TV recently promoted its finalists of “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs” in an innovative yet awkward episode of “12/24 Karol Bagh” which is already growing in popularity.
These kinds of promotions are not limited to television serials alone. Lux just launched its new range with beauty oils. And while they roped in India’s first cine-couple (Ash and Abhi) to do the regular commercials, they also have all the doe-eyed leading ladies of their most popular soaps selling it to all the beauty hungry young girls of the country.
Faced with an ad crunch even the print industry is being pushed into innovation. Femina, a leading women’s weekly, tied up with HUL to cross-promote a range of its products this festive season. The idea of course being that the promotions would be perceived more as an unbiased recommendation by the publication than a push by the manufacturer and the consumer product manufacturer would promote the Femins name in reciprocation. Thereby crossing the boundaries of the usual promotion.
Only time will tell how succesful these tactics are. But they sure indicate a mature marketing environment where the marketers are not caving in but using innovation to reach out to the consumer.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Protest for the sake of protest
The recent uproar over the proposed telecast of Obama’s back to School speech seems to be protest for protest’s sake. The content for the speech is being made available prior to the telecast and all school districts are at complete liberty to show the speech or no. Then why are the Republicans calling it an attempt by the US President to covertly influence young children?
Seriously, do most parents really think that a single speech is enough to color the political thoughts of their children for the rest of their lives? And if the President can’t address the future makers of his country why does he hold office in the first place? All public schools are government bodies and therefore from time to time will be subject to policies sent down from the administration. These will include such things as curriculum decisions and Teachers’ wages and messages from members of the administration. They must engage in active debate if they disagree with policies rather than wasting time protesting against a short speech.
So far the Obama administration has not done anything to show that it is out to corrupt the minds of the young and manipulate them. Then why are Republicans creating this psychosis? Surely for most children capable of understanding the content of such an address it is not the most important thing. They will more likely than not be thinking of their next date, television program or snack even as Obama makes his proposed speech.
Having lived in the US I will hazard so far as to say that this kind of exaggerated fear is typical of the society where concern over personal freedom can sometimes get out of control and border on the ridiculous.
Seriously, do most parents really think that a single speech is enough to color the political thoughts of their children for the rest of their lives? And if the President can’t address the future makers of his country why does he hold office in the first place? All public schools are government bodies and therefore from time to time will be subject to policies sent down from the administration. These will include such things as curriculum decisions and Teachers’ wages and messages from members of the administration. They must engage in active debate if they disagree with policies rather than wasting time protesting against a short speech.
So far the Obama administration has not done anything to show that it is out to corrupt the minds of the young and manipulate them. Then why are Republicans creating this psychosis? Surely for most children capable of understanding the content of such an address it is not the most important thing. They will more likely than not be thinking of their next date, television program or snack even as Obama makes his proposed speech.
Having lived in the US I will hazard so far as to say that this kind of exaggerated fear is typical of the society where concern over personal freedom can sometimes get out of control and border on the ridiculous.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Accepting homosexuality is about accepting that nature is random
As expected, the repealing by the Delhi High Court of Article 377 (that made homosexuality a crime) has been met with both cheers and overwhelming concerns about how this affects the country’s “Sanskriti” and morality. Driven by a deep-seated fear of homosexuality and a belief that it is unnatural and therefore a threat to the cultivated and safe order of our society, a motley crew of people has filed Public Interest Litigations asking for the law to be reinstated.
To many of us who consider ourselves liberated enough to accept homosexuality, their arguments sound pitifully petty. “Different is not necessarily wrong” we say and point out that even the sculptures at Khajuraho hint at homosexuality as a prevalent practise back in the ancient days. That said, if we want to save the rights of homosexuals, we cannot simply wish away the dissenters. We must make an attempt to understand where this fear and disgust for homosexuality stems from and eliminate the root cause.
In modern society we have endless rules to bring order and control to a world that is otherwise quite unpredictable. We try to measure and judge everything by these norms and if there are uncommon or exceptional phenomena that break the norms, we deal with them by either putting them in a museum or they become the object of our amusement at freak shows. There are several examples of conjoined twins being dragged around the world to be displayed to a bemused audience and don’t we all love to see that five foot giant pumpkin that a farmer in UK pulled out of his field? Why don’t we just leave it alone and ignore it? We can’t, because it is different.
To those who are against it, homosexuality is much like the conjoined twins or the giant pumpkin- something that breaks the accepted and cultivated laws of society. It is a deviancy, a freak manifestation. But what they do not realize is that Nature is neither straightforward nor predictable. Shapes in Nature are never straight lines or perfect circles. There are millions of species of animals, insects, birds and all other kind of creatures where maybe just a few would have done. But this is Nature’s way. It is far more complex and adventurous than we are ready to acknowledge. Therefore a deviancy is neither unacceptable nor unnatural. What is unnatural is our controlled and limited view of the world and a wish to reign it in.
At some level even the concept of marriage (passionately defended by the anti-gay lobby) is a man made attempt to control the natural spirit of sexuality. No species other than human beings has such an institution. All animals simply find an appropriate mate, procreate, and stay together till such time as the off spring needs. After that the male and the female will move on to build new groups and start afresh. Even those animals, such as cranes and penguins, that “mate for life” and maybe argued are together for reasons beyond just procreation, have no such ceremony. It is only us humans as a “highly developed” species who feel the need to control and institutionalize everything. It is no surprise then that most of us with our limited view of things, believe heterosexuality is okay and homosexuality is wrong simply because the latter is a deviancy and the former a more commonly occurring phenomenon.
To conclude, homosexuality or any unusual behavior or phenomenon will only find wide acceptance or understanding amongst us when we are ready to shed our limited worldview and accept that nature is a creative genius and a free spirit. It is not limited by culture and creed and its only rule is constant change and creativity. Homosexuality is a manifestation of just that free spirit where sexuality cannot be defined in one singular way.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Armed with a sound
The busy city of Mumbai is playing host to its favorite deity- Lord Ganpati. As the ten day long festival kicked off yesterday with his birth anniversary being celebrated, the city’s annual extravaganza is afoot despite swine flu threats and drought scares. With the arrival of the idols in many homes along came the sounds that will dominate the landscape for several days to come. Drums, cymbals and loud cheers of the accompanying devotees heralded “bappa”as he faithfully returns to bless them.
Mumbaikars are not alone in their tradition of making a lot of hullabaloo to mark this special occasion. Across India and in fact in many cultures across the world, making loud sounds is part of many rituals. In Bengal women make loud ululating sounds during weddings to ward off evil spirits. Conches are blown during most religious ceremonies and in the native Indian traditions, loud animal like sounds are used for everything from calling the rain Gods to curing the sick.
Most crowds instinctively know to cheer out loud to mark their approval of a person or boo to show disagreement. In Islamic traditions, mosques come with tall minarets built specifically for the “aazaan” or the call for prayers to the faithful. We beat drums to rev troupes up for a battle and then to celebrate victory. And when two people are arguing, each tries to be louder, because we perceive loud sounds as intimidating.
In this world of headsets, honk free zones and chatting (where LOL is a poor substitute for a hearty guffaw) our basic instincts still have a hold on us. Just as we crouch when physically attacked and blink when someone flicks a hand in front of our eyes, most of us use the weapon of our voice when announcing that we are happy, upset or just staking a claim on our territory.
Mumbaikars are not alone in their tradition of making a lot of hullabaloo to mark this special occasion. Across India and in fact in many cultures across the world, making loud sounds is part of many rituals. In Bengal women make loud ululating sounds during weddings to ward off evil spirits. Conches are blown during most religious ceremonies and in the native Indian traditions, loud animal like sounds are used for everything from calling the rain Gods to curing the sick.
Most crowds instinctively know to cheer out loud to mark their approval of a person or boo to show disagreement. In Islamic traditions, mosques come with tall minarets built specifically for the “aazaan” or the call for prayers to the faithful. We beat drums to rev troupes up for a battle and then to celebrate victory. And when two people are arguing, each tries to be louder, because we perceive loud sounds as intimidating.
In this world of headsets, honk free zones and chatting (where LOL is a poor substitute for a hearty guffaw) our basic instincts still have a hold on us. Just as we crouch when physically attacked and blink when someone flicks a hand in front of our eyes, most of us use the weapon of our voice when announcing that we are happy, upset or just staking a claim on our territory.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Decency and honesty promote efficiency
Our renters of two years gave us their notice recently and along with the usual pangs that one experiences when an investment property is being vacated, we also felt a twinge to see such a good family go.
In the two years that they were occupying our house, we barely had the need to communicate with them and any minor issues were settled deftly, simply over an e-mail. One time when our downstairs room flooded, both sides kept their ends of the responsibility and the problem was solved quickly.
Even as he is moving out the guy has been good enough to show the house to prospects, bear witness to the signing of the lease with the new renter and we instinctively know that when we get the house back from him it will be clean. In return, he knows that he will get back his safety deposit from us in time and we have fully cooperated with him in making recommendations to his new land lord and ensuring that only the serious prospects come to see the house so as not to disturb his family.
Sitting thousands of miles away from each other, such efficient contractual relationships have been possible because both sides have shown basic decency and a willingness to not only honor contractual obligations but also co-operate in the spirit of kindness.
While this maybe a very small example, it shows that when people follow promises they have made and are willing to be reasonable, it saves everyone time and money and makes things much more efficient. Can you even imagine the headache, money and lost work hours it would have cost us if the renter had in anyway not followed his side of the contract? Now expand this example to the obligations between companies, or between Governments and its citizens. Unless each side is willing to be honest there will always be frustrations and losses.
No one knows what the outcome of the KG-6 Basin gas dispute will be and what the whole truth is, but since such a large set up can not exist without prior contracts and understandings, surely someone is choosing to twist the law late in the game to benefit themselves. And in the process is willing to cause waste and loss of such criminal proportions.
In the two years that they were occupying our house, we barely had the need to communicate with them and any minor issues were settled deftly, simply over an e-mail. One time when our downstairs room flooded, both sides kept their ends of the responsibility and the problem was solved quickly.
Even as he is moving out the guy has been good enough to show the house to prospects, bear witness to the signing of the lease with the new renter and we instinctively know that when we get the house back from him it will be clean. In return, he knows that he will get back his safety deposit from us in time and we have fully cooperated with him in making recommendations to his new land lord and ensuring that only the serious prospects come to see the house so as not to disturb his family.
Sitting thousands of miles away from each other, such efficient contractual relationships have been possible because both sides have shown basic decency and a willingness to not only honor contractual obligations but also co-operate in the spirit of kindness.
While this maybe a very small example, it shows that when people follow promises they have made and are willing to be reasonable, it saves everyone time and money and makes things much more efficient. Can you even imagine the headache, money and lost work hours it would have cost us if the renter had in anyway not followed his side of the contract? Now expand this example to the obligations between companies, or between Governments and its citizens. Unless each side is willing to be honest there will always be frustrations and losses.
No one knows what the outcome of the KG-6 Basin gas dispute will be and what the whole truth is, but since such a large set up can not exist without prior contracts and understandings, surely someone is choosing to twist the law late in the game to benefit themselves. And in the process is willing to cause waste and loss of such criminal proportions.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Sonia Gandhi beats Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton
Forbes released its annual list of 100 most influential women in the world. The list covers a range of sectors from large Corporations to non-profits and of course politics, and as such is a comprehensive representation of the female horsepower in the world today.
For me as an Indian woman, the fact that Sonia Gandhi (President of the ruling Congress party) came in well above Michelle Obama was something to smile and talk about. It is no mean feat for Sonia Gandhi to beat the likes of Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama who have an instant advantage by being associated with the most powerful and influential administration in the world. Both the above-mentioned women travel the world, are regular features on the news in any country they visit and have a much more mature PR machinery backing them- all advantages over our Mrs. Gandhi. One is the wife of an ex-President and the other is married to one. So what makes Sonia Gandhi more powerful than them?
Forbes unequivocally acknowledges her as the “leader of India’s most powerful political party” and calls her the “dominant force” in the country. And I think that is where the key lies. By giving Sonia Gandhi her due place in the list, Forbes is acknowledging the growing importance of India. With a population of over 10 billion people and one of the few economies to continue to show a growth potential of almost 7%, India is a market no one can ignore. So a woman who has the capability of influencing this market must necessarily get her due credit.
But Sonia Gandhi’s supremacy, it must be acknowledged, is not just derived from the size of India. It is also derived from the political and social complexity she faces every day and the consecutive successes she has managed to deliver. Initially ostracized by many as non-Indian because of her Italian lineage and language handicap, she has managed to overcome both issues and put those concerns to rest once and for all. She has shown remarkable political astuteness and true spirit of public service by giving the Prime Ministership to a man like Dr. Manmohan Singh when she could have easily chosen to promote herself or her children (nepotism being an accepted part of Indian politics).
She has played tough with both her allies and rivals as and when required and against all odds lead her party’s Government to broker the successful nuclear deal with the US and win the recent elections by an unexpected majority. Both Hillary and Obama are yet to notch up any such significant achievements and thus must bow down to her.
In the end it must be said that while she may have lived under the shadows of her equally powerful Mother-in-Law and endearing husband when they were ruling India, it is clear that she learnt her lessons well. She has developed her unique blend of quite assertiveness that the world is noticing and acknowledging. Let us hope that as time passes she can parlay this influence and power to get India an even greater recognition and stake in the world stage. Congratulations and all the best Mrs. Gandhi!
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