Am speaking at Brandate '07 in Bangalore tomorrow. See you there?

UPDATE 1 July 2007 - 11.00 am
It has been one of my most adventurous talks yet - night before the talk, my presentation - all done, bar some fine tuning - simply disappeared from my desktop and the pen-drive. A near final version, saved per chance on the notebook rescued me though. Any trip to airports is anyway an adventure by itself now - there were delays both on departure and arrival.

I came back with 2 insights:

1. India lives in it's villages airports :)
2. Trees in Bangalore appear to be much bigger than trees in Delhi - weather? likely

Driving towards the event venue, I was engrossed in a conversation with Adarsh from Brand-Comm when I noticed a Rolls-Royce pass us by. A closer look and I saw it was painted red-white with sexy Airtel branding, announcing the launch? of their new mobile store. It was cool I thought and spoke about it at the talk...

The event venue was abuzz with excitement. Anywhere between 120-150 people attended; some interesting presentations; it was interesting to note that MANY presentations before mine had references to blogs, social networks etc; my talk was received well, I hope. Lots of questions ranging from:

1. How does one validate credibility of a blog before making, say, a purchase decision
2. How are blogs relevant for, say, internal research
3. Who is/ should be responsible for blogs - marketing, communication, HR - Sridhar answered this one

I started my talk with the mention of how the game has actually moved way beyond blogs and even within social media tools, the lines are blurring. However we stuck to the agreed 'Blogs for Marketing' yesterday and left some actionable points for marketers to consider and the value of a strategic approach - something that we have worked upon as our differentiated Blogworks offering.

I hope more marketers move forward from just talking about blogs, or indulging in tactical initiatives measured by "200 blogs mein hamaara brand mention hona chahiye!" - that's not measurement; that's not impact or value for the brand either; and that's certainly not assignments that we are hoping to bring alive.

Nice weather; was able to catch up with lots of former colleagues, friends; and made new friends - Bangalore was good.

A couple of times now, my Google Talk status has said 'link love'. All my contacts have at least once pinged me to know whom am I linking up with ;) With equal jest I punch vague answers that blur all possibilities of any further topical discussion. But I smile to myself. For I have just seen the first signs of - what a lot of us are very skeptical about- a Community!

I could build a case for virtual communities and cite several examples even from our very own Orkut. But I’d rather share a live instance that may help validate.

We were recently approached by our friends who run Radio Schizoid, an India based Internet music station that plays trance, for a possible assignment.

Just as an experiment one morning, we linked Schizoid to our respective Google talk status. Consequently, even my Orkut profile was happily advocating- 'Trance @ Radio Schizoid'. Add to that my love for psychedelic art- my profile could have well been of someone from Goa. In a couple of days I get this curiously casual email from Anirudh (no-one I knew then) who called himself a ‘trance addict'. At first I junked the email as yet another random friend request, but I did make a note of the trance bit and checked his profile when next on Orkut.

Hmmm, so you wondering why this may have won theCannes 2007 Grand Prix? No story - go and see.

Oops, forgot :) : It is the Dove Self Esteem Fund (Evolution Film) by Ogilvy, Toronto.

Thanks to the technology enabled environment today, we have seen that it is possible for small and medium businesses/ enterprises to bridge the 'divide of size' in communication and outreach efforts, both in terms of quality and even reach, something that was until recently possible for large organisations. In fact, the relatively smaller size may be of advantage for some, in that it allows nimbleness. In other situations, a somewhat time demanding tool maybe preferred over a cash demanding one - blogs & social media fit in beautifully in all this.

So when Janani who writes for BenefIT Magazine, a publication focused on IT for businesses worth Rs. 20 to 5000 million, reached out with a story idea on blogs, we were only too happy to help...

The story (BenefIT-Blogs-June2007.pdf), besides introductions, pro/cons, questions & tips etc. also has 3 case studies from businesses of totally different sizes & categories, making the piece much more real, touch and feel:

1. Rekha Nambiar, ID Home, The Decorating Hub
2. Spykar - though not a blogging initiative - outreach on Orkut. The official community listed has a couple of dozen members but the real action, I was surprised to findm, is in the many, unofficial Spykar communities on Orkut
3. Cleartrip Blog

Blogging BenefITs - literally.

I don't know if I deserved this, but then you don't really question a Diva, you simply bow and accept the honour - Thanks a lot Toby.

A brief background, Thinking Blogger Award was conceived as a tag meme by The Thinking Blog. Governing thought - too many blogs, not enough thought. Hmmm...

Participation Rules

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think
2. Link to this post so that people can find the origin of the meme
3. Optional - Display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (was this to be a specific 'post'? Not sure...

I read a lot of blogs originating from countries other than India but wanted to link to just blogs from India for this. Here we go, a few blogs that make me think, I think (alphabetically):

1. Ajit Balakrishnan
2. Annie Zaidi - The Known Turf
3. Dina Mehta - Conversations with Dina
4. Manisha Malhotra - Taking matters into our own hands (sport policy etc)
5. Palin Ningthoujam - Social Media Munching

BTW - John Daly sounds like a great recipe!

Sure, you've already heard Prosumer and this video that I got via TechCrunch, which in turn got it via Read/WriteWeb, takes us to a journey into the future that might seem simplistic to some, but it does capture what's happening around us (or what may happen).

Suddenly, in the last month or so, everyone is talking about Avatars - looks like they have arrived. Kris messaged these cool links on Twitter yesterday - Gizmoz.com , Voki.com

Strangely, I had punched this post last evening but couldn't upload it and here we have a story that appeared in The Financial Express today - on avatars.

See the film and tell me what do you think...

Word-of-Mouth Marketing is fascinating, as it is intriguing, and Namita debuts on this blog with a piece on trends that we are witnessing. Consumers beget consumers, she says! Interesting, I think - what do you say? Do join the conversation.

1. Consumers beget consumers!

Are the days of celebrity endorsers counted? In the age of reference, it is a peer’s word that seems to matter – the individual and his opinion seem to count for more. There is probably no greater endorsement for Nike than the feet that wear it? and in that respect the consumer has also become the marketer.

The Internet too has done its job in connecting people. Platforms such as blogs, wikis, social communities and forums have provided the Individual opportunities to amplify his voice and reach a large audience.

On the other hand, the marketer continues to face multiple challenges - there is the question of finding the customer in a scattered environment; having found him, retain his attention and critically… stay relevant. If the marketer is able to establish the same level of trust that the user enjoys with his peer group, then that’s a battle won.

Engaging the audience, build presence in forums and communities, act upon feedback are perhaps acts that will add long term value to brands. In essence, nurturing relevant relationships may hold the key to crafting a niche for the brand in this networked era.

Values of transparency, participation and collaboration will improve the overall brand experience. Consumers will naturally be inclined to evangelise the brand – sharing experiences, feedback, posting comments and reviews etc.

Early adopters of this trend have made smooth advances, while many others are just beginning to shake the dust off the shelves.

For example Bzz Agent, specialises in word-of-mouth marketing programs. Based on the premise that consumers with to be heard and can be the most important links for product promotion, the firm has built a substantial database of consumers, tagged as ‘BzzAgents’.

Brands have never been more vulnerable, I think. Not just because of genuine criticism that today's Internet technology allows people to put up - and which should be welcomed by brands as feedback - but with the possibility of something that may make guerrilla marketing seem tame, there is a possibility of the arrival of professional brand stalkers'? ( I didn't find a description to that word on Wikipedia)

In the last week or so two marketers, managing big brands, have spoken about support being garnered by a blog/ community, led by a person/group, to launch an attack on the brand with 'malicious intent' - I am sure it would be a challenge to even ascertain malicious intent versus genuine problem faced by a customer. Who should be believed & why?

The first marketer didn't really deserve any sympathy and sounded dubious to begin with, but in the second instance got me thinking. Could it be that the person was very consciously stalking a brand, to gain something?

This did make me think - as blogs gain more strength, would there be a new breed of stalkers? What do marketers think? What is the legal stand? What strategies would a brand need deploy to tackle something like this?

Questions, so we could find answers!

Meow 104.8 FM's studio glass wall looks into India Today Group's cafeteria. There yesterday, as a guest for a show, I was looking out... thinking about the last time I was there; that was 4 + years ago and my friend, who worked (still does) in the same publishing group, and I were there for a snack. Shamsheer Luthra (I think it was him, been long) was live on Red FM, which Radio Today used to own and run then. It sill looked the same...

Meow 104 Meow 104.8 went live just 2 weeks ago as India's first Just-for-Women Radio Station. There's a mega out-of-home campaign on at the moment and, I would say, sufficient interest in the station (as the search words on my server logs tell me, having written this brief intro on the day they launched). This was validated too by phone calls - during the show, the one before and one after - it is always fascinating to see a new brand being created - the excitement, the learning.

I was there for their evening 5- 6 slot 'Tu Tu Meow Meow' (derived from Tu Tu Mein Mein, which for our non-Hindi speaking readers is the opposite of 'You're ok- I am ok' and simply translated means 'an argument' :) ). It wasn't that bad, though the energetic Ginnie, who hosts the show, did assure the audience from time-to-time that we were indeed arguing most of the time that they were busy listening to the songs (more western popular towards the evenings I was told).

I asked Chhavi, who produces this show, on why didn't they have any male hosts, didn't women want to listen to men? Of course they have a male host, mornings. Hmmm - cool. Want another? I could volunteer!

Peter Griffin's email probed "What type are you?"

He's just talking 'typefaces', lest you start getting other ideas: "Curious mind wants to know: what typeface do you write in? And why?"

This has now become a fun post, c'mon join the fun!

JuxtConsult's India Online Report 2007 is out. Read this post from Agencyfaqs on findings. The full report can be ordered here.

More on this later...

UPDATED - 5 July 2007, 10.25 am - Sources- India Online 2007 - Juxt Consult Study; The Economic Times; Blogworks.

1. 30 million + users


Grew at 28% year to year
Only 37% from top 10 cities
19-35 years age groups account for only 67% of them
66% come from SEC ‘A’ and ‘B’
Only 17.5% come form ‘IT’ functional background
Only 41% prefer to read in English
83% regular users (once a month)
6 million + ‘fast’ connections - not broadband, but not dial-up either

2. 10.8 million (43%) have purchased online


76% more than last year
84% have bought a travel product; 56% have bought non-travel

3. Social Networking – 44%


14% + of Orkut users are from India? – high stickiness among youth
Facebook is single biggest gainer
Niche communities have strong stickiness
Caferati; Venturewoods; Desi Pundit etc.

4. Search usage high – 85%




5. Blog recall still low but high consumption through search


Credibility will only go up as experts join in
Still predominantly English, but local language is coming in

The first learning on this post from Toby, on consumer generated media and advertising, that I linked to sometime ago read:

1. This is Complex - It’s complex and it carries risk

Yesterday a friend forwarded me this piece in the Financial Express (via their arrangement with NYTimes)

That's exactly what Heinz seems to discovered in its experiment to run a contest inviting consumers to submit their ads.

Sample this:

"In one of them, a teenage boy rubs ketchup over his face like acne cream, then puts pickles on his eyes. One contestant chugs ketchup straight from the bottle, while another brushes his teeth, washes his hair and shaves his face with Heinz’s product. Often the ketchup looks more like blood than a condiment."

Shelly Parmer's post, part of my post on Toby's, too was critical of brands using consumers to generate ads.

I don't think anyone has sure answers on what would work or what wouldn't in an arena so new, not that there were any guarantees earlier. We can only learn from what's happening around.

Tricky, eh?

When times were simple fun and we were 'crazy about the 'zing thing'! Still are...

Some of our younger audience might not have seen these before and I specifically urge them to comment on what they think about these ads. Do send me links to more stuff like this - maybe we can run a classic ads festival here on Blogworks!

Many of Gold Spot's initiatives were memorable stuff - The Jungle Book promotion being a case in point. Another post to talk about those, for now though, the ads:

A series of random events made me think about the 'weak link' in customer service:

1. My mobile rang, the young lady on the phone was calling on behalf of the car company I had recently purchased a new vehicle from and wanted me to participate in a brief survey. This is my second car from their stable and as a happy customer, so far, I agreed. Where I thought, she perhaps wanted my feedback on how the vehicle was doing etc. (it has since had an axle change), nothing like that interested her...

   She jumped straight into a sales spiel - the company had launched a new device to protect my vehicle from theft, would I be interested in buying? I protested that this was not a survey at all and requested a call-back from the Head of Customer Care to share feedback. I did, indeed, get a call back the very same evening. A deputy manager first called and finally succumbed to my demand of speaking with the Head of Customer Care.

   The gentleman, first didn't agree that it was possible his team could be doing something like this (his DM knew) - I told him either he was acting naive; or he thought I was; or if he really didn't know, my sympathies were with him. I told him that I am just sharing feedback that:

   - As a customer who has just posed his faith in his product, the first call I expect from the company should be to take my feedback on my driving experience - he agreed.

   - I don't have a problem in speaking with his team for purchase of another product, but I refuse to be cheated into it by a 'survey' spiel - he agreed.

   A few days later, someone else called to take my feedback - it didn't matter to me anymore; there is feedback form that I received a couple of days ago, it is lying unattended.

   I test drove another of their vehicles recently and enjoyed the experience. My overall experience with the brand, over the years, has been good and I think I will buy again but I do hope they call me to take feedback first, if and when I do

2. A mega jam, en route to Gurgaon on my birthday earlier this year, forced me to request my friend to get a sandwich for dad/ us, from this ultimate brand built on it's promise of 'fresh' and 'healthy' meals, to sustain us until dinner later. Driving on, my friend recounted how one of the boys at the counter was handling veg and non-veg products at the same time, without changing his gloves. It had happened earlier at the same outlet,owned by someone known to me, and I had let the boy go with a warning that I would let the owner know the next time. This time I did...and he promised to look into it.

   Even as we settled for dinner later, my father developed a severe stomach pain and had to be rushed to the doctor - who diagnosed a stomach infection. Did the sandwich cause it? Did the problem go beyond just handling of veg/non-veg together? Maybe veggies and stuff cut and left open? We will never know and it doesn't matter, I discontinued my patronage and am actively dissuading my friends from consuming their products

Even as more of us from 'Team Blogworks' get ready to launch our respective, purposeful, blogs, I have been encouraging them to start contributing here. So here we are, Bidisha shares her conversation with a younger cousin, regarding social networking. Enjoy! Do share inputs and your own experiences.

1. Happy Conversations!

They say the proof of the pudding is in its taste - read on...

Social networking is one element of the Web 2.0 environment that sure has the Indian youth hooked. Even though detractors have been predicting the tempo to fizzle out, but a look at the latest statistics may suggest otherwise. Infact, I think social networking is not restricted to just the big cities and metros, a good chunk of profiles from the tier- II cities and small towns. And I state this not on the basis of some third party research, but based on several conversations that I have had on such sites.

Just the other day, during one of my Orkut sessions, I had an interesting conversation with my cousin in Allahabad: Tanay has just been promoted to the 11th standard. Right now he is enjoying his post-board exam break and his favorite hobby these days is not a sport or films or even spending time with his girlfriend… but 'Orkutting' and spending time on several such sites like – Tagged, Desimartini, Hi 5 and Facebook. His peers are there (and so am I) constantly exchanging notes, following each-other. To be denied entry into a 'group' is the worst affront anyone can show you (being dumped is Passé).

Just how much are the youth into social networking? Judge yourself from the fact that many don't exchange telephone numbers or email ids, they ask instead... Are you on Orkut? (or Facebook etc.). They live these networks.

Forward Motion, the news update from Twitter, which just landed into my inbox, had me sit up and notice something - tweetVOLUME. This is what the update said:

"It's just an easy way to see what words or phrases are showing up on Twitter and how often. For example, 3,800 folks have twittered about being sad and 13,000 people have twittered about being happy. Clearly, Twitter users are happy people. Is that because they drink coffee (14,200) about three times more than tea (4,610)? Who knows..."

Like many others, I too have been thinking about marketing applications of Twitter, but how does one track and measure the going ons? Another very interesting mash-up, Twittervision, of course, pops messages on a map and you can, if you had the time, follow these messages. But how does one get a quick, number/ dashboard view?

I think tweetVOLUME has interesting implications. I tested the following brand names and found these many mentions of:

1. Nokia - 1490


2. Sony Ericsson- 84


3. Motorola -188
4. Mercedes - 138


5. BMW - 243

These numbers are of course dynamic and may have changed by the time you land on the site.
Also, I am wondering, when are these mentions 'from', in terms of timelines. BTW , you can compare up to 5 words at the same time, on a dashboard view. Marketers, particularly addressing youth, may find this an interesting way to monitor buzz.

There are 843 mentions of India. Twitter is yet to catch on here and that's clearly the reason Indian brands hardly find a mention, but hey 'Yoga' is happening @ 781 mentions.

Now if someone could tell me the Tone of Voice: Negative - Neutral - Positive. Greedy, ain't I? :)

Go, check it out.

Read more Twitter stuff, here.