Sunday, December 14, 2008

Liive Mumbai Live Mumbai


Mumbai has never been so live shown on TV across the world as it was during the 26th November battle. Yes, a battle between a handful of merciless fiyadeen and people of Mumbai.
And the Mumbaikars defeated not only the terrorists, but the Indian politicians as well. Politicians like Shivraj Patil our ex- home minister who spends time in changing clothes more often than caring about our motherland security, R R Patil who still believes that Mumbai attack was a small incident in the big city, Vilas Rao Deshmukh who seems to be making career into movies after politics and our very beloved Raj Thakrey , the Marathi Manush , who go on beating unarmed poor Biharis and Bhaiyaas on the streets of Mumbai. So Mr. Raj, where were you, when the incident happened. Why you didn’t thrashed the terrorist out of Mumbai. I hope, they are much bigger threat than poor North Indians, sorry Indians who come to Mumbai in search of Roti, Kapda and Jhopdi.
Its high time our politician friends get over the regions and boundaries and care about the country and its people.
Mumbai is back on track, with the same spirit but still the pain is left. They are angry for the first time. The aam aadmi, fillam wallahs , rich business mans have shed their religious lineage and are together fighting for Mumbai right, to let Mumbai live and not be live on the TV, the way it was.
There are some lines I have written on Mumbai Strive for their rights-

Let Bombay be like it was,
When peace was there and not pieces on street,
When everyone living there was a Bombaiyaa,
and not Manush, Bihari or Bhaiyaa.
Let Bombay be like it was,
When love was there,
and hatred miles away,
when people loved their life,
and not dying in trains or streets,
when netas looked it as a city,
and not a political battlefield.
Let Bombay Live and not be
Live on TV as on 26th Nov.

Jai Hind !

Amit

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Cheering the Cheerleaders at IPL






I got a chance to watch two IPL matched at Mohali, first on 23rd may and the second one on 28th may, thanks to my company and my Boss. The matches were good with Kings XI Punjab being the winning side and some good sixes and fours. However, there is something in IPL T20, which sets it apart. The S Quotient. S or Stars have been a critical factor in the success of the IPL Bonanza or product. I remember the matches I watched in stadium. Though, being an ardent cricket believer, I liked watching Preity Zinta and the sexy and sleek cheerleaders equally or may be more than Yuvraj Singh or Shane Warne. And, truly speaking that was the sentiment in the stadium. I know many people , who were not in stadium wont agree to me , but the TV camera were not showing the crazy spectators who were watching Preity more than the cricket. It was like the chant of “ Preeto – Match jeeto” and continuous. Thankfully, Preity obliged the spectators with her waving, dancing and yeah some flying kisses.
Yeah, so coming back again to IPL beauties minus Preity, Katrina were the white cheerleaders. I got a chance to watch CL’s of Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI and Deccan chargers. My favorites were the Rajasthan Royals. Not just because of their short skirts, but because of being more appealing to the public. The CL’s of Kings XI and Deccan chargers used to face towards the ground whereas CL’s of Rajasthan Royals used to face towards the public and also dance some 15-20 seconds longer than other CL’s.
Its like a better reach to customer and more customer friendly attitude.
Well, though Cheerleaders have been talk of town, media and the ministers, but still cricket rules and has not been overshadowed. People, who criticize IPL, should watch in future and mark my opinion like many for its success. People, want to see entertainment, and this is what IPL is “Manoranjan ka Baap”.
I am posting some pics taken from my websites....Waiting for some test matches now..

Saturday, April 19, 2008

U Me Aur Hum - Falling in Love Everyday


After a long time I saw a good positive movie, and now I regret not watching Tare Zameen Par. Last time, I had a watched a positive movie was BLACK, and it was accidentally, but no doubt I loved that movie.
What do we mean by a positive movie? A movie which can inspire you, can help the society to develop and be more mature, and at the same time not a boring documentary.
Just to give a short brief on the movie, for all those who haven’t seen the movie –
Ajay is a doctor who is enjoying holidays on cruise with his 4 frens, two of them are married couple who are a mismatch couple fighting with each other. The two other frens are Boyfriend and Girlfriend looking for making a life together. Ajay is single, but no more when he finds Kajol, one of the waitresses in the cruise and falls in love with her.
He tries to woo her, fails initially, but makes his day one day. The two get married, enjoying every day of their marital bliss, till suddenly a strange incidence happen.
He discovers that Kajol is behaving strangely, forgetting things, because she is suffering with a rare, but a tough disease called Alzheimer’s.
Meanwhile, his married couple friends get separated, though they all still form a circle of common friends and are seen hanging together.
Ajay who tries to manage the things, suddenly finds him helpless and gets Kajol admitted to a hospital, so that she can be take care of. Things turn really hard for Ajay, thinking about her every moment, and missing her. The situation can become so tough for a family whose one of their member is suffering from Alzheimer is shown in a much matured way.
One fine day, he realizes that he should take a strong step, and bring back Kajol home and take care of her himself, rather than leaving her. Seeing, this decisions his married frens who were separated feel the importance of living together and get united again.
But, what will Ajay do, because Kajol has forgotten Ajay. Its simple, Ajay manages to win heart of Kajol every few days, by telling her their old stories and in turn he gets some bonus days, when Kajol remembers him for few days. Hence, the film is about falling in love with your loved ones everyday.
Whether, someone is well, unwell, suffering with a rare disease, the strength lies in not running away from it, but facing it bravely and winning over it. I am sure movies, like this, tare Zameen par and black is going to help in changing the society.
Some take on Ajay devgan’s direction – I think he has done a fairly good job, though not excellent. The first half of the movie is light, with some double meaning lines as well and decent comedy. The second half highlight is Kajol’s power packed performance. No doubt, she is still the best actress around. The movie seems to drag a little in the end , but when you leave your seat finally, the positive energy created by the film keeps you upbeat. Guys watch it, it will help the society.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

The Paradox of Consumptive Evolution in Marketing


Consumption is good, but up to a certain level. It must ensure a sustainable and positive quality of life.

Why should I join the league in taking this world at the verge of collapse?

You might find the above question out of context as far as Ask Harish Bijoor is concerned.

Till now I boasted and felt proud of being among the sharpest and brightest minds of India or probably the whole world. But now, during my last few days of my MBA, when I look back over the last 17-odd months, what I see is that all I have learned is how to spread consumerism and thus, unhappiness. We are taught how to sell more than two mobile phones to the same customer when he can easily do with one; how to ‘connect’ people by making them talk more and moreover call rather than encourage them to meet each other; how to influence ‘impulse’ buying even when the object’s not on the customer’s list. The list is long and never-ending. We call ourselves strategists?

_ Ankush Lal, Lucknow

Ankush, nothing is out of context at all. All questions are really good and correct. It is the answers that are wrong. It is the answers that are out of context most of the time.

I like your question. You ask because you think. And you think long-term, quite unlike the harried marketer of the day and his ‘short-termism’.

I do believe consumption has a glass ceiling. Consumption is good, up to a level. It must be all about ensuring a good, sustainable and positive quality of life to all concerned in a consumer society. The height of the glass ceiling is really common to all.

If you peek keenly at what is happening in urban India, there is some cause for distress for sure. The marketer of the day is going a bit berserk in some categories. Selling has two dimensions: Selling of the necessities and selling of the un-necessities. Both are two sides of the same coin. There is a thin line that divides the necessity from the un-necessity. Is a refrigerator a necessity? Is a cigarette lighter an un-necessity? Is a Swarovski diamond an un-necessity?

The answers are contextual to a society on the rise, the rising income levels of a people, the yen for convenience and lifestyle, and most certainly the disjointedness of a society with the real way of living, as opposed to the new virtual way of living.

Consumers go through cycles of living. In the beginning they are satisfied with the real and natural things of life and living that surround them. They are happy with what they get. As they earn more and as they make progress happen, they seek out more. This is when they move from the basic and real things in life to the created and virtual joys of convenient living. And then finally, there will come a time when they will get fed up with it all, and will want to regress to the real and natural way of living.

In different societies, the point to note is that different clusters of people exist at different levels of what I call consumptive evolution. For example, in the US, a seventh-generation marketing economy, the size of the pie of each of these three clusters could vary. The early-stage market for real and basic is very small. All under 1 per cent of market. The size of market for the created and higher end virtual joys is as large as 86 per cent. The third category of the self-actualising consumer fed up with it all and wanting the real joys of natural living once again is as big as 13 per cent, and growing.

In an early second-generation marketing economy such as India, the size will surely vary. This is un-audited as of now, though.

I do believe marketers must be the ones to show self-governance and self-restraint. The marketer in India must not try to fast-pace the consumer onto the track of unwanted needs. Selling of the un-necessities as represented by the two-television set household and the three-car household is where there needs to be immediate restraint. Advertising as well has a role to play. It is time for restraint.

And this is where you come in, I guess. I do believe you must join the marketing bandwagon for sure. You must, however, join it at the responsible end of the spectrum. Minds such as yours can contribute a lot to bring purpose to marketing that can go, and has gone, awry in its besottedness with harvesting the new consumer in width and depth for every mobile phone and garment on tout.

Why should you join the league? To bring in responsibility. To bring in restraint. To bring in method to the marketing madness we see all around us. You will stand out like a sore thumb in the beginning. You will be pushed to a corner. You will be the maverick for a start. And then the world will follow.

Go for it, dude!

How does dominant ownership of a category impact brand valuation for the said brand in question?

- Jyotsna Tripathi, Mumbai

Jyotsna, owning a category is the biggest value-reap any company or brand can hope for. When you own a category, you alienate every other competitor, existing or new. You build barriers to entry which are rock-solid.

Brand valuation in categories totally owned are the highest for the owner of the category. The board game Monopoly owns the category, just as Scrabble owns the word games category. Valuation of these brands is the highest in the board games category.

(Harish Bijoor is a business strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
This article is picked from my net surfing on brands and marketing and taken from Hindu Business Line , except the first few lines . I acknowledge all the views expressed in this article.

my views

India is no doubt becoming a high consumption society following the path of consumptive evolution like US. And, as a Marketeer , most of us are trying to sell all kinds of products, whether the consumer really needs it or not. As, a Sales and Marketing professional , would I do the same ? well, it depends but I feel that as a responsible marketeer , we need to understand the needs of consumer and design the product accordingly.
I also , feel that it should not be mistaken by upselling or cross selling the product, as upgrading the consumers is a perfectly ethical move by any sales or marketing person.
The focus is to make a genuine attempt to sell, and not fool the consumer becuase a untapped consumer is easy to win , but getting back a lost customer is a tough thing to do.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Chandigrah Karee Aashiqi.....





Time and again, one thing which has kept me kicking all my life living away from my home for almost a decade now, is traveling to new places, meeting lot of people and experiencing the lives of different cities.
Chandigarh is one such city which fascinated me and, I feel I should write about it because , the city buzzes with a romanticism imbibed in its rich architectural and planning heritage.
The city is red , with houses made of exposed bricks, many artistic monuments , rose garden and the happening sector 17 , also called as
ZOO
because of the bird watching( guys talk).
I visited the city , so many times before I really discovered the city life one day with one of my colleague and friend Akshat, who took me for a ride around the city minus the
ZOO
.
The city is bustling with young crowds around the University area, but its same everywhere, right? The difference lies in the open spaces around the university campus, the ART college, D.A.V college , Home Science College, Law college and University of Business Studies, the kind of eating joints in the open spaces, the guys hanging around , the bevy of beautiful gals from Himachal, Punjab , J&K and North East. Infact, my friend who has graduated from D.A.V College, Chandigarh told me that Yuvraj Singh often vistis the D.A.V cricket ground in his BMW, whenever he is in the city and plays cricket there. He was also known to be a big craze among the girls there, which can be accepted by without doubt.
When one moves around the streets, it can be often seen that, people are meeting and talking each other on the shaded footpath in hot summer over a ice-cream, which gives a retro romance look of 70’s movies. Guys moving around in Enfield, black classical style, lazily gazing around makes it more happening.
The food is good with lot of variety and also damn cheap. Though, You need to stand in line to get your hand on your favorite food, as the space is always full with young guys and girls.
Another , exciting observation I felt was the Brand Conscious youth in Chandigarh. It is rarely seen , that some one is having a simple mobile set. w people generally carry latest flashy mobiles, branded jeans and tees and yeah , it looks good on them.
I feel, that there is a perfect combination of city’s architecture and the romantic youthful life the city portrays, making me hum..a popular Punjabi pop..Chandigarh Kare Aashiqi...

Monday, January 28, 2008

The wanderer who never Lost



As usual I am writing after a long time, and also as usual most of the time it takes Paulo Coelho book,
The Alchemist
to ignite my passion for writing. I have been a staunch believer of the story of
The Alchemist
and the fact that, if you are really serious and want to achieve something, than the whole world conspires to help you achieve that.
The essence of my latest poem, The wanderer who never lost without any doubt is inspired from the books that I have read and is a reflectance of whatever learning’s about life and motivation I have gained from those books and not to forget the biggest teacher, one’s own life.


The wanderer who never lost

I was born so distant, from where I stand today
I was struggling so hard, from where I stand today,
I am a wanderer, who traveled so long and distant,
But never lost!

I read, heard so much about so many,
Thinking one day I would be one of the few,
Making my name count and people shout,
Though, I failed so many times, but I never lost!

Life is a journey and me as a wanderer,
Learning lessons and preaching some,
Transforming myself into an iron with a candle soul,
Fighting the odds, and loving you all,
I was hated so many times, but still I never lost!

I am what I am, still miles left to cover,
There is no way; the journey can get over,
I am a wanderer, who believes in moving ahead,
Exploring new horizons, conquering new heights,
And let the world recite his anthem,
I am a wanderer who never lost!

Amit