Social Messages use more than shock value to reach out

Every now and then, you see a social message being communicated by an NGO or by the police about the ill health of smoking, drinking etc. Most of these messages try to deliver a shock value suggesting impending doom as the only outcome of the activity you are undertaking. . Intelligence, wit and subtlety seem to be lost causes in most of these ad situations.

What we have below are two examples of social messages, which are witty, intelligent, relevant and eye catching. Check them out and if you know other good social ads, drop me a link so that the message can get a little more exposure through this blog.


1) A WWF ad below cleverly uses green paper in a tissue dispenser to indicate harm you are doing to the world with every tissue you use. Fantastic would be an understatement !!

2) Crashed witches were up on poles with this message "Don't drink and drive this Halloween". A very innovative outdoor marketing initiative. Wonder what effect it would have generated if it had been timed with the Harry Potter Book/Movie release - hmmm...

* References - Ads of the World & Frederik Samuel

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Does marketing feed into strategy? Or is it the other way around?

I was on Seth Godin's blog and noticed his post on Thinking about
Domains and just one line in an otherwise perfect, struck a discordant note.

"One last bit of backward thinking: if you're looking to start an online business, consider finding a great domain and build the business around it, not the other way around."

The key thought behind the post was to emphasize the importance of domain names. Though I don't dispute their importance, it is a stretch to suggest that online businesses should revolve around available domain names ie. search for available domain names and then build businesses around them.

How can one decide business strategy on the basis of marketing elements? Conventional theory suggests that Strategy feeds into Marketing and not the other way around. So I might decide to be in the online auction space and decide to call myself ebay, but will I decide to be an online auction just on the availability of a domain name?

Just assuming businesses are a little more complicated than that.

Nonetheless it is acceptable that entrepreneurs who are exploring opportunities at starting up in the online space, book domain names prior to finalizing their plan (or even start working on it). But booking domain names in the absence of a thought seems like shooting in the dark.

A website needs a lot of ingredients to be successful and the domain name is just one of them.

Let me reiterate, I am not undermining the importance of the domain name. It is equivalent to the brand name of a product in the offline space. Unlike brands in the offline space where the "first moment of truth" could be through packaging, ambience or even tasting the product, an online portal depends on its domain name (it has to be typed or clicked before the portal can be experienced in any way).

The question that begs to be answered is a larger one actually and I thank Seth for instigating this thought. According to this report, more than 47 million .com domain names have been booked already. Hence its highly probable that you are unable to find your ideal domain name.

So, Is the absence of a great domain name the end of the road for your business? Or do trends suggest that there is hope still.

Give me some time to research some trends before I answer that one, the last time I tried to answer it with insufficient research, I faced some serious flak from the blogger community. I apologise to every one of them. In my overenthusiastic attempt to try and see if imperfect domain names will work, and initial research suggesting that it was indeed possible, I wrongly concluded that domain names could be becoming irrelevant. I couldn't have been more wrong and I am thankful to everyone who pointed it out. The domain name is one of the many ingredients for success. A good name always aids success.

I have since taken that post off this blog since I don't believe in it anymore. I am hoping that the next few posts will correct some of the wrong.

So please hold on until my next post. I hope to throw larger clarity on this issue.

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Coolhotmail.com - Why it could kill Gmail (And why it won't)

What is CoolHotmail?

CoolHotmail.com is a site where you can get a unique email id which truly reflects your personality. The email ids could be anything ranging from ishwar@underpaid.co.in to ishwar@ufoff.com. (Visit the site for a complete list - some of them are pretty good). It is currently launched in India and many ids are very India specific.



On the face of it, this seems like a good strategy against Gmail and Yahoo. Hotmail could have recaptured the lost email space with this piece of innovative marketing. An almost perfect understanding of the concept of "Cool" and yet not at all. Let me elaborate.


Concept of Cool

Lets first understand the concept of cool from the visual below.


In the above graph, the innovators form a niche market. They actively seek new & innovative brands/products and talk/adopt them. This section is considered very cool and also known to be opinion leaders. The early adopters catch on fast enough and also adopt the brand. The cool factor rubs off on them too. If the brand becomes mass and is adopted by the late majority and the laggards, then it is clearly uncool to possess and show off this brand.


When are you cool?

To state it simply, its when you are different. How can you be different is the next logical question. Simple answer again is when you assert your individuality through what you say, what you do or what you have / possess.

Is being different good enough? You not only have to be different, but also belong to a relatively niche club. "I listen to rock, not boy bands" is the easiest example. An even better example would be a Harley Davidson owner - I bet he feels way cooler than the rest.

Then there are the cool guys who wouldn't touch an ipod with a 3 foot barge pole. The only reason is that the whole world has one, they like the creative mp3 players and would go against the world to defend their purchase (they defend pretty well and they are a lot cooler)

I have to add that there is a thin line between being cool and being "just different". Not everything that is different makes people want to imitate or aspire for. "Cool" is something everyone wants to be.

Fundamental Philosophies for a Cool Brand

• The brand has to promise something different
• Has to give scope for people to assert individuality and yet belong
• Remain exclusive by making the brand inaccessible (like a Harley that is priced so high that by default it is inaccessible)
• The easiest way to have a cool brand is when the category itself is so well segmented that its exclusive for everyone. Though not a perfect example, lets consider music genres. Since there are a zillion categories, its easy for everyone to be different, belong to a niche club and feel cool at the same time. This can be sustained by periodic new introductions and for a sustained period of time.

The biggest problem is everyone wants to cash in on their "cool" brand and hence make it more mass, which opens the space for a new brand to be niche, exclusive and hence cool.


So you want to Cash in on a cool brand?

• Be accessible in all forms - available & financially viable.
• Make it available and yet seem exclusive. Gmail has used this to good advantage by making registration seem exclusive as it is subject to an invite from an existing member. This will delay the shift in perception from cool to uncool (only delay not stop)
• Crunch speed of adoption from innovators to laggards by enhancing awareness, word of mouth and PR. This makes everyone seem like they are getting onto something new & different. But the difference between innovators and laggards should not more than 6 months. This principle has been used by Apple on their ipod and iphone series very effectively.

Why could CoolHotmail have been the next big thing?

Its got all the ingredients of a cool brand

• Expresses individuality and yet gives the opportunity to belong to a niche club

• A number of segments and options for everyone on the same platform to feel they are different, even if they create a mail id at different points in time

• In a sense its like the music genre example I stated earlier, so many options that everyone gets individuality and belongs all in the same breath

• Of course its fundamentally different from other offerings in the market

• Decent viral - Check it out

One addition I would like to see is the freedom to create your own domain name. For operational reasons, they could have one extension like ishwar@innovativemarketing.mi (where .mi is an extension they own). Then any extension is possible (a .com flexibility will be impossible considering the number of registered companies out there)

Why CoolHotmail will fail?

I hate to say it, but the single most important reason is they called it "Cool". Anything which is called cool can never be cool.

• 5 GB of space seems less when other mail options have unlimited space
• Lastly the website features are not different and certainly not great. None of the cool gmail features that we are accustomed to. Nothing to write home about.
• Too many non targeted ads overtly intruding my space

What do you think? Can hotmail regain lost supremacy?

Update to this post!!

Alexa Rank : 1325 ranked site in India. 3 month reach has dropped by 47%. The anonymous comment left on this post doesn't smell of authenticity.

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How to drive footfalls to a bar / pub / restaurant

So everyone has seen signboards & direction boards for restaurants, shopping centers and cafes? Of course you have, and you probably think that its been so done to death, that nothing can be done differently...

Traditional advertising is trying to break clutter more than ever before. An ad on a new medium is always likely to attract attention for a while, but gradually consumers develop a blind spot on this medium.

The purpose of many marketers and this blog is to break through this blind spot. The means to achieve the end is - either use innovative media, use existing media differently or create clutter breaking ads. The ad below uses the second option and innovates on existing opportunities to reach the consumer.

Source - Ads of the World

This guerrilla marketing was initiated by Soma Coffee House in Canada. The primary objective was to advertise the addition of a wine bar to the coffee house. The secondary objective was to direct people in the vicinity to the venue.

Not only did they advertise the Wine Bar addition using a sign board / direction board, but also coupled it with footsteps which took consumers to the outlet doorstep. The beauty is that the footsteps were little drunken footsteps, in sync with the added wine bar.

I love this, Cheers to Soma (hic!!)

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Cadbury's fantastic Mobile marketing campaign

I think every marketer has toyed with mobiles and how to use them in Integrated Marketing Communication. Being consistent and complete in this communication medium is a difficult task, so when I came across this mobile marketing initiative by Cadbury India, I just had to give it the finger (Naaah! not that one - the thumbs up).

The interactive campaign for "Pappu Pass Ho Gaya" which means "Pappu* has passed in his exams" bagged a Bronze Lion at the prestigious Cannes Advertising Festival 2006 for 'Best use of internet and new media'. The idea involved a tie-up with Reliance India Mobile service.

It allowed students to check their exam results using this mobile service. If the student passed, he got an sms congratulating him saying "Pappu pass ho gaya" alongwith the exam result and hence encouraged him to celebrate the moment with a Cadbury Dairy Milk.

Creative thought, great execution, innovative use of a marketing medium and fantastic association with a key moment in the consumer’s life. Do you give it the finger too?

* Pappu is a common nickname given to children in India

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And the mobile phone will be extinct (not kidding)

Here we are, inseparable from our dear little handheld mobiles and yet the takeaway will be "Hmmm... it could get extinct". To understand why, we have to understand or rather define convergence.

Defining Convergence

"Convergence" refers to the blurring of dividing lines among traditionally distinct products and services, technologies, markets, industries, and regulatory structures.

For example, the Playstation2 is not only a games console, but also a CD player, DVD player and Internet connector. Mobile phones are actually the best example, in that they increasingly incorporate digital cameras, mp3 players, camcorders, voice recorders and other devices.

For the consumer it means more features in less space.

So does everyone love carrying their mobile phone?

Whats wrong with the mobile?

As Matt would put it "The pain in the neck of carrying both a PDA and a phone - along with my notebook, wallet, cigarettes, keys, business card case, and other miscellaneous bits and bobs - would inevitably cause me to abandon ship"

His problem was more with the PDA + phone, but I get pretty pissed with the standalone mobile. House keys, car keys, wallet, mobile phone, random sheets of paper, coupons, bills I have to pay and sometimes my ipod go into my pocket. I can kill myself for the thunder thighs effect generated.

So is that reason enough to ditch the mobile?

The Wrist Watch will replace the mobile? No Way...

Not yet - not until the new generation wrist watch kicks in. Wrist watch manufacturers have focussed on fitting in absolutely useless features like an altimeter, a temperature sensor etc.

To really get an idea of the possibilities that a watch can converge into, check this out.

This cool watch doubles up as a USB device to store your music, documents etc and also serves as a plug and play with Windows and MAC operating systems.

So you love the cool videos and the smartphone feature

Its not going to take long to give the watch the core feature of a mobile phone - the ability to "talk" & "sms". Its a watch & time keeping is the core function, so "alarms" & "reminders" are easy too.

What about all the cool videos that you can see on an iphone and what about the smartphone features? It does look like a stretch that the watch will cater to this need as well, so most probably the low end mobile phones will only be under threat. A thought I would like to leave you with - No one thought that the simple phone would become a computer in itself.

So do you think a Rolex or a Tissot could replace the Nokia's and Motorola's of the world?

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Top 9 Axe Ad campaigns

Following the Axe campaign post a few days back, here is a compilation of my top 10 favorite Axe ads. Unfortunately most of the ads got eliminated for either being way too explicit or for turning women off and I ended up with 9. (A quick check on a lot of Axe ads reveals that women can find them degrading).

#9 - Same old concept - but executed well


#8 - You wonder how its an Axe ad, till you read the tag line


#7 - Its a nice concept and could have been higher in the ranking list, if it had been executed better


#6 - Creative Genius - well executed - Kudos


#5 - Nice - very nice


#4 - Takes you a second to get this - A nuns attempt to resist temptation

Source Coolbuddy.com

#3 - This looks like it was created just for the net, the idea is just too creative to leave it out. If these towels were handed out at a beach, hmmm...

#2 - Its simple, great idea, well executed. I kinda like these toilet door ideas!!


#1 - Awesome idea - It attracts attention, a desire to read on and connect the pieces. Engages the consumer. Had a difficult time trying to find one that beat this



Drop me a link of an interesting Axe ad, if you think it should be on this list...

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