Welcome to the “arranged employment” market

Think of a typical process of scouting for prospective partners in an arranged marriage.

You send out feelers through family and friends, or you enlist the services of a well connected “wedding expert” (usually a family relative), nowadays even that process has evolved – people put up their profiles on wedding sites.

Now think of how the job market works – if you want to change jobs, you ask friends and colleagues for contacts/info, contact a professional recruiter or consultant and if you get like really, really desperate, you post your profile on job sites. Just like in a marriage, so too in a job; the internet remains the option of last resort, a means of desperation when nothing else works. Fairly similar scouting process, isn’t it?

Step 2 – Prospective partners are identified and their profiles scanned (exactly same process in a job as well, the only thing missing here is probably the picture, but depending on the tendency of the employer, that may play a role too – especially in advertising agencies). And few lucky individuals are selected to be interviewed (parents meet, employers meet). Increasingly here too, the codes have changed simultaneously, earlier it was layered – uncles, then parents, then prospective and in an employment scenario, the HR head, then the interdepartmental interview and then the immediate boss. Nowadays pretty much both cut directly to the chase.

Step 3 – Couple of prospects are identified and then starts the “investigation”. Iske mama ke chacha ke dost se baat karte hain…are there any skeletons in the closet that can be found. Similarly, employers too look for information from the “employee’s distant professional relatives”, first boss, agency moles, etc. Usually, in both searches, they are looking for the same thing – character clarification. Boozard, womanizing issues, income, ability to get along, temper, etc….And more often than not, everything tends to come clean (in most cases). Just like in marriage so too in jobs, people are more than capable of hiding skeletons.

Step 4 – This one’s relatively new to both. Courtship period. The guy and gal get to spend some quality time together, to figure out whether they BOND..In a marriage situation, the only bonding that the guy is looking is some quick pre-marital action. The same rules apply to jobs. The employee is asked to meet people in the company over a drink to figure out if it’s his kinda place…all he’s looking for is a. how much are they willing to pay me and b. how hot are the gals here….Completely futile exercise in both cases, I must say.

Step 5 – Len Den. Simple and straightforward. Here it’s the job market that again learning from the marriage market. “Deal Sweeteners” have made their way into corporate packages. Uncles and dads offer honeymoon packages, companies offer Porsches and Jags (recent CEOs of ad agencies should know). The incentive plan’s made it to the marriage market as well. “Beta, in a year; we’ll get you a flat in Lokhandwala too” Read between the lines, you take care of my child and I’ll take care of you after a year…

Step 7 – Break aways and break offs….All done, the pasts buried, ex girlfriends told to back off, current employers told about the “I’m moving on” story; this is what’s best for you and me….again these ones work for both employees and ex’s too…

Step 6 – Sign on the dotted line…pheras….seal the deal.

Step 7 – Honeymoon and first day at job – in both cases, the “humping” begins….

Sounds familiar??

This is a story about the 2Cs and the 2Ps

At a client meeting recently, we presented a fairly fresh “social movement generating” idea for a brand. We’d thought it through reasonably well – the biz and the buzz both seemed to have been covered. When we got into explaining how the idea would become a monetization engine for the brand, the CEO politely reminded us that since this was a truly BIG idea, we shouldn’t dilute it with stating monetary commitments/expectations upfront.

Cut to second presentation, this time to the sales heads of the same brand. Same idea, same presentation, yet completely different reactions. This time, we were reminded that the idea is just one that’ll bring fame to the brand but not any profits. We’d rather spend the media money on something more direct, something that drives immediate profit, blah, blah, blah and blah.

That, in today’s day, seems to be the core issue. While most companies want to embrace a truly large social cause, they still tend to look at the initiative through two different lenses, purpose and profit. We’ll either do it for the money or for the fame, not for both. To most clients, embracing a social cause almost always means having to sacrifice profit for the purpose.

The issue is that our consumers don’t think so.

Was recently speaking to a guy that passed out of IIM A last year and started his own version of an NGO. Yes, he was driven by the desire to make a change; yes, he knew he had to do it on his own and yes, he also expected to make a healthy living out of his profession. He did really believe that he could marry his purpose without having to compromise on the profit. Today’s youth are purposeful but not sages, they believe in making a difference but not at the cost of the quality of their lives.

A look at the “Bunty Syndrome” research numbers shows that. Close to 90% of youth in Tier I & II cities believe they can make a valuable difference to society and close to 86% believe that they will also be very successful in life. To today’s consumers, purpose and profit go hand in hand.

And the biggest one is that they don’t expect companies to look at the two in isolation too.

The Euro RSCG Corporate Study 2009 indicates that 77% of consumers would like to align with companies that are willing to drive a positive change to the world. Close to 80% also believe that there is nothing wrong with companies making healthy profits.

It’s time companies realized and embraced the fact that purpose can drive profit and profit can make a purpose seem more meaningful to everyone within the organization. Because in today’s business world, both are equally important.

Unfortunately, our consumers understand this but most companies don’t.

Planning - Evolving With The Times...

Wrote this in a response to queries by a mag; thought i'd put it up on the blog for people to react and respond.

It’s always tough for an account planner to explain in one line what he actually does for a living. However, that dilemma is probably becoming redundant, more so in the last five years.

The way it was envisioned is that there existed a place in the business for a person who had a sharp understanding of the client’s business, a keen eye for the consumer’s view and a means of getting it through to creative. They were, in a sense, meant to be bridge between business & consumer needs and the creative interpretation.

However, with clients going to specialists, the role of a planner got marginalized. Research gets done by research agencies; business consulting by clients…hence the onus on a planner is now on the “ideas” alone. Both within and outside the agency, planners are evaluated on the power of their “ideas” rather than the rigor of their work.

Planners today are used as the “ideas” guys, the guys who’ll come up with the idea for a brief, for an event, for a pitch presentation, for a way to sell the creative to the client. Given the sharp segregation of functions, the onus of “ideas” seems to always fall on the planner’s table. 

Today, that role is metamorphosing. Given the emergence of new forms of media (digital, marketing services, blog marketing, channel planning), integration has become of paramount importance to all agencies. The reality is that few actually  deliver it, the reason being that the onus for that integration does not lie with any one person. That’s probably the role that planners will need to take upon in their agencies. From being just “idea generators and sellers” to being “integrators of ideas and solutions” across media.

Planners have had to think of innovations even around the execution and that’s probably a sea change in the way planners perceive their jobs. A place of pride exists for specialization within planning (channel planning, creative planners, data planners) but the reality is that a good planner can play all these roles with equal ease.

In a sense, while a planner would always be about the “why and the what”; today his/her role is also a lot more about the “how”!! Or put differently, the role is evolving from “One I 2 another I” – from being just about ideas to being about “ideas integration”

That being said, the currency of a planner, knowledge and varied influences, still remains pretty much the same, it’s just the manner in which we tend to use that has made all the difference.

Where are the courageous brands??

Was watching Rocky Balboa yesterday when a random thought came to mind. The reason that half the world adores Rocky is because he always came across as unpretentiously courageous. Rocky was a man who’d stand up against opponents who most others would shudder to face off with and then go on to beat them. It was his courage and simplicity that made him such a loved character in the movies.

Within the movies space, think of some of the real classics. Lagaan, again loved for a team of underdogs that had the courage to take on the existing system. True of Chak De India, true of Remember the Titans and even true of an otherwise useless movie like Gadar. Movies show us that people love characters that demonstrate genuine “courage”. These are the characters that are immortalized, remembered across generations…

So, when was the last time we referred to a brand as courageous?

I can’t think of a single brand that I’ve worked on in the last few years that would like “courage” to be a part of their brand world (each of us can call that different names). We like to be customer friendly, idealistic, warm, blah, blah, blah but not courageous.

Yet, every single brand desires and wishes to command respect from its customers?

Think about some of the people that we respect. The jawans/soldiers who keep the terrorists out every night, cricketers like Dhoni who’ve had the courage to push for their own will in order to drive a larger Indian dream, movie characters like Rocky and people around us who we know have had the courage to fight the system and make a difference…

The reason why the TOI Lead India ad connected with people is because a little kid had the courage to do what others couldn’t: remove a simple obstruction from the road, one that his small frame could never possibly move. Yet, he tried….showed the courage….and managed to move the tree.

So clearly, even our customers respect individuals who demonstrate courage…

Yet brands want to be respected and yet, they don’t want to demonstrate courage…Sounds funny, doesn’t it??

The only plausible reason that could exist is that most brands don’t want to “walk the talk”. Courage demands an action, and usually an action that takes on an establishment. Hence, to demonstrate courage requires

1.       Conviction for a belief that you may have (Aamir Khan was convinced that the Lagaan levied on him was incorrect in Lagaan and hence would go to any extent possible to reverse it, our soldiers are convinced that the country’s security comes ahead of their lives)

 

2.       Action – The physical act of taking on people/individuals who are in opposition to your belief/cause and come out on tops.

 

In today’s world, most brands want to be dynamic/ fluid and at best “mediums” that drive change. They want to be catalysts rather than initiators or leaders of change. Belief systems in brands are also fluid, we know what we will not stand for but we are not really sure what we will stand for. And even if we do know, we will do precious little to hold forth on our stand.

Brands like Idea and Tata Tea do have a conviction. In the case of “Idea”, the conviction of equality is a noble one. But will it do something to ensure that the “caste reservations” will be eradicated. Will it ensure that “female infanticide” will not exist in the world over the next 10 years? Will it make a firm statement against Raj Thackeray for trying to create a “communal divide” in Mumbai?

That’s the difference between a brand with good intent and a courageous brand. Unfortunately, there are many with intent and very, very few with courage.

The Emergence Of Election Markitecting In Indian Politics

Barack Obama’s election campaign is probably the best marketing campaign for a “personality brand” (some may say it’s the best marketing campaign for any brand or product ever but there will be many people arguing against that, so we’ll let that rest for a bit).

By the end of it, “Change” reverberated through the length and breadth of America and brand Obama could do no wrong. All thanks to a marketing campaign centered around the theme of optimism which no American could have possibly missed.

Indian political campaigns have never really been campaigns in the true sense of the word. While television and print commercials pass off as campaigns; the impact is quite limited primarily because the reach is very, very restrictive and communication cold (no personal interaction, no vested propaganda). To that extent; they were never engineered or architected as political campaigns. The attempt at “architect an election marketing campaign” (read markitecting) was never there.

However, that seems to be changing in the elections for 2009. A semblance of a structured election campaign seems to be coming out of the BJP ranks. And the similarities with the “Brand Obama” campaign seem to be quite stark. BJP is making a serious attempt at markitecting a campaign aimed to position LK Advani as the leader of change and progress.

Given that NDA declared Advani as their Prime Ministerial candidate well in advance has allowed them the opportunity to tackle all the issues that brand LK Advani may face in a structured manner well in advance.

It all began at the HT Leadership Summit with Mr. L K Advani sharing his views about secularism and corruption in the country. Given his well documented stand on “Ram Rajya”; the view he put forth on secularism was his first step in ensuring that he is seen as the leader of a country and not of Hinduism in the country.

The book authored by him “My country, My Life” also launched at an opportune time, an attempt of bringing the “urban eclectics” closer to LK Advani. The attempt was at projecting a leader who was secular, intellectual and a strong leader with strong views.

Next up was the issue of tackling the “82 year old man leading a young India”. To put forth the fact that he is in tune with and comfortable with the fads of the new generation, www.lkadvani.in was launched. A blog site where Mr. L K Advani attempted to speak his mind and connect with a young, talkative India while proving that he’s a leader “young at heart, if not young in age”

Many may say that these seem to be just coincidences. But the way I look at it; there were some tick marks that Obama covered in his political campaign. And they hold true for “Brand Advani” too.

Book, tick. Blog, tick. Talk to the intellects and the opinion makers, tick.

And chances are by the time we reach April 2009; there will be a lot more tick marks on that “election campaign marketing” sheet that Obama had and which is being followed by the Advani marketing think tank.

Attention deficiency Syndrome

I am just going to get out there and say it. I suffer from what I think is a case “Attention Deficiency Syndrome”. I find it tough to hold onto a thought/single chain of thoughts for too long (it’s usually less than a few seconds). Hence, I keep fleeting across topics and most people who know me well find me moving from one topic of conversation to another very quickly (most times, others are still discussing or responding to the earlier query when I move onto another topic, a habit which Nishita and my close friends cannot stand).

The only real time that I make a concerted attempt at staying with a line of thought is when I am at work; and most importantly when I am working on pitches and presentations (that too is usually aided by a document I write). But the point is not to be labor my own problems but to make what I think is a related point.

I think this “attention deficiency syndrome” has helped me quite a bit because my ability to react to my own emotions is also quite short. Hence some of the most disheartening incidents in my life (dad’s death, grandpa’s accident, development of a physical distance from my closest friends), I have managed to put behind me in a much quicker time frame than I thought it would take me.

Till now I thought I was the only one twisted. But post observing reactions of people post 26/11; I think it’s a problem that a lot of people suffer from:

·         Our politicians seem to have forgotten 26/11 already and their cowardly acts of diplomacy and toeing the line indicate that they’d rather look ahead to the elections and Obama’s reinstatement rather than “belling the cat” and turning some serious heat on Pakistan

 

·         Each one of us has done our ceremonial acts of “protest marches” and voicing opinions on the “Speak Up” section and moved on with life. Even voter registrations have not increased substantially on the “Jaago Re” site so clearly even individual votes are not been valued to make a difference. 26/11 is off our “action radar” clearly

 

·         As always, economic issues have made it right up there on our new print and television screen. Our media personnel have diverted their lens and their pens towards monitoring the markets and the sensex again putting “Mumbai burning” firmly on the ceremonial backburner.

 

I’ve hence reached a conclusion that I’m not alone; that “attention deficiency syndrome” is more a societal issue than an individual one. It’s this ADS that allows us to be resilient, partly insensitive and gives us the ability to move ahead.

 

Just that I think, every once in a while, it may not not necessarily be such a good thing.

Believe...

Just last week, I was playing our weekly cricket match. We were in a really hopeless situation – it read 33/7. And for the first time in the entire tournament, I had finally discovered some form. It felt like it was my day; I was able to shield my partner, get a boundary and also managed a single off the last ball to keep strike. I genuinely felt that I’d bat out the 20 overs.

And then, I made the fatal error…I went after an absolute sitter and holed out on the boundary. With that, it was all over, my innings, our innings, our match….

While I walked back to the pavilion, I thought to myself; this just sounded like my 2008 to me. My mind rushed back to the beginning of 2008:

_ We’re doing well at work; we seemed optimistic to get our targets. And suddenly towards the end of the year, we’ve really had to sweat it out.

_ In the beginning of 2008, I was feeling on the top of my health. By the end, I was struggling with a nagging back problem; one that seriously hampers my regular movements

_ January 2008, all of my closest friends were around me. December 2008, there are just a handful left behind in Mumbai.

_ January 2008; I was completely confident of my own abilities to do my job well. December 2008; I am not sure of whether I need to make some radical changes.

_ January 2008; I was happy being a Mumbai-ite. December 2008; I am a scared and frustrated Mumbai-ite.

Clearly, things did not pan out the way we had planned out and it hurts even more so because we began 2008 in a position of strength. What applies to me probably applies to a lot of things that have changed around us; the economy, our city, social environment, etc. The drop has been so phenomenal that it has sapped our confidence and belief in being able to survive what seems to be a shaky 2009.

But the cricket match taught me the answer to it all…We walked onto the field for the next match and said to each other; we BELIEVE we can win this one and we’ll fight every inch of the way for the victory.

And that’s my only resolution for 2009 – I am going to BELIEVE

Believe in my ability to make a difference to my work this year. Believe in my ability and that of my city to make a change for the better. Believe in my intent to bring my health back on track. Believe in my ability to make a new set of “close” friends. Believe in my own efforts and those who are with me to put in their best as well.

Belief, I believe it works and in 2009, we’re all going to test it.

As for the match; our belief took us quite far; we didn’t quite make it but we got really, really close….BELIEVE…