Towns and Villages as per the popstrata -

Just compiled the list of towns and villages across pop strata, A difficult job to get the data right. This data is prepared from the dump files of census 2011.

Our way of gathering information is fast changing- Google VS Facebook

Just sit back and think for a while, how much time have you spent searching for something on Google to the time that you have spent reading articles, updates, information that are shared by your friends of pages you liked on facebook. A recent question being passed on about the top three websites that you visit each day, Facebook leads youtube and google comes third. 

This brings us to the believe that there is a drastic shift in the way information would travel and be consumed. What does this trend mean to the a marketeer? A marketeer can no longer wait for the consumer to come to him feed him with the message. From the whole set of people present online, there are a few enthusiasts that do the search and share, then there are a few who share the information searched by others and a large chuck of the online population just consume the information. Hence it has become imperative for a marketeer to create content that urges or inspires a consumer to share.

For the consumer that stays online the triggers to google search comes from social networking platforms like facebook, twitter etc. Hence it is imperative today for a brand to make a presence on the digital platform and create content that are worth sharing.

Organizations have over the years relied on the hitherto communication mediums and have spent huge amount of money on them but it is now time to look at the digital platform with more seriousness. 

What is behind the Enfield Thump!!

I came across this print ad in the latest issue of Rolling Stones that lead me to find this amazing film that I thought I should share.

This ad sure draws that attachment to the Enfield, outlines the true essence of an Enfield being made. And the film captures the true essence of Chennai without a word spoken. We have always associated The Royal Enfields with those evangelist who own and drive them. And this film and ad pays tribute to those behind making the machine, a tribute to the place where it comes from.

And it certainly has been able to strike a different chord. A new way of looking at what is an age old principle of advertising started by Ogilvy. Let people know the product, where it comes from and how it is crafted. 

Coke Studio: A new Road for Music

I have often written and believed that music is a platform that can unite and has the power to serve a motive (Highway 61, Rock On) . We have had a plethora of realty TV shows from Indian Idol, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa to a number of regional ones. This has certainly been instrumental in bringing out talents like Shreya Ghosal, Abhijit Sawant and many more, but what has worried me over the years is the dominance of Bollywood music over independent albums. Though I have great respect for Bollywood music but somehow feel that there exists a lot of talent outside that industry that needs to be brought out.

Music Entrepreneurship/Management and Sports Management are perhaps some things that have not caught up in India as yet, but I am a strong advocate of such concepts in India.

Some of the reasons for the rather slow growth of the independent music label industry:

1.     Lack of a proper professional and organised mechanism to market independent music labels.

2.     Lack of professional approach of bands or individual artists as they lack the necessary PR skills.

3.     No one buys music!! Though the internet has been instrumental in allowing artists to have a greater reach, but piracy has been killing the industry.

4.     The concept of live shows has picked up over the years but the consumers are still not ready to give it the same status as other entertaining forms like movies and eating out. With places like Hard Rock Cafes, High spirits in Kolkata, Curve in Pune etc. have surely been a platform for live musicians but still not a sustainable business opportunity for a band.

This brings me to the show that I wanted to share with you “Coke Studio” a show that has entered into its season 3. The underlying ideology of the show is to bring people closer, bridge gaps between societies through powerful music.  

It encompasses the concept of live recordings and performance so that consumers can have a sense of involvement in the process of making music rather than just consume it.  The music evokes a gamut of feelings with music ranging from traditional eastern, modern western and regionally inspired music. The platform has been provided by Coco Cola with the philosophy of peace an harmony which I feel is a great branding activity in a county like Pakistan.

Concepts like these can revolutionise the music industry in South Asian countries and replicating a similar model in India would perhaps take the industry on a new route or form a successful industry parallel to the existing Bollywood.

Facebook: Coke Studio

Highway61 will take Indian Rock to another level IF...

I had earlier blogged "We need music to spread its tentacles and serve a bigger responsibility in nurturing the minds of the people, the youth and foster a sense of awareness for the problems that have wrapped the nation." And this band was perhaps, exactly what I was referring to then.

I have been following Highway 61 a Pune based band for a couple of years now. Their music can be categorised under Hindi,Sufi, Urdu and Ethnic Rock. They have risen by playing at various college fests. Recently they won the Battle of Bands at SCMHRD and they would also open Bryan Adams on the 11th FEB 2011 in Pune.

This band has almost the right mix that is required for a band to be commercially successful. This band has risen purely on the basis of their music. They have the ability to take Indian Rock to another level if marketed properly. 50% of the Indian population is below 25 and considering the fact that they sing in Hindi there is a huge audience for the kind of music that they produce.

Their compositions are strongly rooted to what they stand for, they believe that they are the voice of the resurgent youth and it is necessary to make their voices heard, their song Jagoo Zara tries to capture just this essence.

Not too many music band in India have had really great commercial success, may be they have always been overpowered by Bollywood music. I believe that this kind of music has great potential to be commercially successful and give the Indian Rock a new definition. It would be interesting to see how these bands market themselves and what opportunities and business models come up so that bands such as these have sustainable commercial growth. 

Follow them on Facebook and download their music: Highway61

What Drives Trade Across Borders?

To start off – some facts
US – Canada trade worth $820 billion (2007) , US-MEXICO TRADE-2006- $342 Billion, CHINA EXPORTS-2007-1.2 trillion of which the breakup is as below.
a. Asia- 46%-Japan-11%
b. Europe-24%-EU- 16%
c. North Ame-21%-US-14%

I was till now of the impression that China’s exports were mainly to America and Europe!!! This left me wondering what drives trade across borders.
The main factors of trade across nations were:
Common Language + 42 %
Common Regional Block + 47 %
Colony/Coloniser + 188 %
Common Currency + 114 %
Common Land Border +125%

The above facts would be true except for perhaps exports between India and Pakistan. Prof. Ghemawat in his book on International Marketing talks about the CAGE Framework to analyse bilateral trade.
C-Cultural, A-Administrative, G-Geographic, E-Economic

There have been multiple cases where organizations successful in their country of origin have failed when they went abroad, Walmart in Germany, Argentina, Brazil from where they eventually pulled out, Disney in Paris, Google in China. It would be interesting to see how Walmart adopts its operations in India though it is only going to manage the backend with Bharti managing the front end.

Different culture, ethnicity, values, language, religion all have an impact on bilateral trade. Geographic differences too have a major role in determining trade relations like physical distance, lack of land border, different time zones, climate etc. One reason for the booming Indian IT industry was the difference in time Zones with US. Another reason that drives trade can be attributed to administrative policies like colonial ties, trade blocks, same currency, political hostility, and policies common and civil. Some internal factors that impact foreign investments and trade are closed economy, lack of membership to international Organizations, weak institutions and corruption in a country. The last reason that impacts bilateral trade is economic, like the rich-poor divide, differences in cost and quality of natural resources, financial resources, human resources, infrastructure, and knowledge. Other macro economic factors like Economic Size and per capita income play a major role too.

Complan Boy!

If you see me you would be certain that I am a complain boy, with a height of 6.1 ft though a little thin. I recently understood the secret behind my height after watching this weird ad of Complan. Though I never liked the taste I drank it till it was replaced with beer.

The ad claims to have done a scientific research on children. Yes Children. Few were given Complan and few were given some other health drink (not beer). Children drinking Complan grew twice.. that’s what they claim.

The ad shows a group of mothers paying a visit to the “Department of Nutrition” to find the truth. Imagine a conversation between two mothers.
Mother1: your son a complain boy.
Mother 2: No, My son was tested with B..vita
Mother1: Ohhh.. I am so sorry for you, your son grew just half compared to mine.

Imagine what would be going through the guys who didn’t grow as much as the Complan kids. Had I been a specimen for the experiment would have sued Complan.
Remember the Complan ad with Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia. The experiment seemed to have failed there I guess, with Shahid still looking like a kid and Ayesha must have got herself overdosed with it.

This new ad is one of the weirdest I have ever seen, and if such an experiment was actually carried out, we better call Maneka Gandhi to fight for us too.