We all have heard/studied/read about the Product Lifecycle(PLC).The concept says that Product like a human being has a finite life.It grows, matures and then dies.

Lets take an example.Floppy Disk is no longer available now but it was a hot cake at one time.Even till 2001-02 floppies existed in market.The product just died.

Brands on the other hand don’t exactly follow a life cycle.Brands can be immortal unless they commit suicide.Brand and product are closely related.A brand is nothing without a product or service but brand can evolve over the time.

Continuing with our floppy example,Sony,Seagate all had their floppy disks,but the brands didn’t die after the death of floppies.

Sony today is preparing market for BluRay.Seagate is a market leader in hard disks.

The brands lived.Coca Cola is a brand that is immortal.Brands who realized that they need to evolve survived, rest have died.

There were brands in India like Campa Cola,Gold Spot etc,today they have died and are no more.

Either they were killed by the bigger brands or customers rejected them.If Campa Cola could have gone into a slightly different beverage market,they could have survived.Parle did survive as a brand.Today its a big brand.

Thums Up as a brand could not be killed even after Coca Cola tried its best because the consumer demanded the drink.

Some years back,there was a series of TV commercials in India for a brand called Home Trade.The ads featured Sachin Tendulkar,Shah Rukh Khan,Hritik Roshan but the brand was never heard of after the ads.The brand died instantly.

So do brands die ?

Yes and No,Brands are not created by TV commercials or campaigns,they are for the consumer/customer to test and trust.Once a name is in customer’s mind,its a brand.But the life of the brand would be decided by the fact whether customer sees the brand as a friend or a foe.

e.g. Whenever Maruti comes out with any new car,people accept it and trust it because Maruti as a brand is a friend to many target customers.Same is the case for Apple as brand.

Many would argue that once a brand is established,its immortal.But its not the case.Luna was a brand which was highly valued and popular, today the moped is no longer in production nor any other vehicle is produced with a Luna logo or brand.

So Luna is alive in history and not in reality.

Brand unlike a product can live for ever,if managed properly.Here comes the role of Brand Management.

Brand can undergo a physical change too.Like many brands keep changing their color,the look,the identity or image.This ensures freshness and long life.

Coca Cola,Nike,Adidas,Google,Microsoft are kind of brands which will ‘never’ die(hopefully) because they have evolved over the time,adding more products to their arsenal.

If a brand keeps evolving,it will never die,It can’t.

But it can commit a suicide.

What Say ?

Note: You can also request/suggest a post to me using the button on the left.I will certainly try to write a blog post on it with acknowledgement of your name.

© 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

The part 3 mainly deals with poor execution,implementation and use of brand ambassador.

I will start it with an ad.Just have a look at it

After watching the whole ad,you just see Hritik Roshan and that is only what you see in the ad.The ad happens to be Parle Hide and Seek Bourbon.Majority of people don’t even know that,they just think its Hide and Seek ad that’s it.An advertisement is supposed to be for creating awareness about a product which should ultimately lead to a purchase.

In the ad,you just see Hritik and not the product.The product and the name just comes in the end till then the interest is lost.The agency had a super brand ambassador and an extremely successful brand name.They could have come up with a better ad in which HR actually talks about how good the product is or its taste or something similar concentrated on the product rather than his dancing skills(even those are funny in the ad).Just remember the Hide and Seek Milano cookies HR ad,that is precisely what had to be done with bourbon too.

Here due to poor execution and improper mapping the ad bombed and hence the product suffered.

Lets take the second case of a recent Ad featuring Akshay Kumar in new Micromax Game phone ad.

This ad could have been THE AD for Micromax who have been trying hard to come in the big league.They sponsored the last cricket tournament in india in which Sachin scored 200*.

Now they got Akshay Kumar as their brand ambassador.AK is a big star with large fan following.They could have capitalized on his star power and made a much better ad which could have placed Micromax where it wants to be seen.

But they chose to do a childish commercial in all the mess and fuss over one app in their phone.The worst part is the AK laugh which has been used over and over in the background.AK is losing ground these days for his comedy skills.All the people whom i asked about the ad said that the ad is irritating.

When you have a big brand ambassador and lot at stakes you should go for a mature sophisticated ad rather than a childish one which Micromax chose.With such an ad they cant challenge the likes of Nokias,Samsungs,Eriksonns etc.

Now last but not the least the last example which is a typical case of wrong mapping of an ambassador with a product.

Just imagine Salman Khan selling Wheel.I and my friend had a good hearty laugh when we saw this ad for the first time.Salman Khan is a superstar.I agree but he cant sell Wheel.Can he ? I think he can but still this is not a kind of ad you would want to see Salman in.

He acts good,the concept is great but still neither the ad nor the product goes with the image of the style icon.Wheel is not even a premium brand.Prachi Desai is a right choice but Salman doesnt fit in at all.From the same ad remove wheel and put in some premium electronic brand like LG or Samsung (with obvious changes),that would have been great.

But you never know Salman is loved by the masses and Wheel is for the masses so the combination might just  click.

But at present,you just enjoy this ad because its funny.

Just note how Salman says,”Ismein hai nimboo ki shakti aur hazaaron phoolon ki khushboo” in his typical English accent.:)

What Say ?

© 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

One thing that was omnipresent in all the media plans of the past was DD National.TV meant Doordarshan and vice versa.

Ad on DD National meant you reach everyone you wanted to reach.The only question was at what time and what show,the ad has to target.Today its the next level of TV advertising.TG (Target Group) selection then channel selection then show selection then time selection (repeat telecast issues) and what not.

Today advertisements are much more advanced than the past but still have we forgotten the DD Ads.The answer is no !

The DD Ads are still fresh in our minds.Who can forget the famous Vicco Turmeric ads in the prime time DD movies.And the other most famous Bajaj Electricals Ad,”Jab main Chhota Bachcha tha”.Dharmendra riding his Rajdoot and saying Jaandar Savari,Shandaar Savari.

To revisit the DD time,i have selected few ads.The full collection can be seen on the new Advertisements page dedicated to Doordarshan National.

BAJAJ

Vicco

ECE-Bhool Na Jaana

Surf Ultra-Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge

Continue to The DD Ads Page

© 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

Now after a tornado struck Tiger Woods in his personal life and his image has taken a beating,Accenture and other firms associated with him have either snapped ties or are thinking of doing it.

But then there are firms like EA Sports and Tag Heuer who are not following suit.They say that they had Tiger Woods as Brand Ambassador because he was the best in Golf not because that he was a family man or was not involved in any scandals.

This is a big dilemma when it comes to having Brand Ambassadors.In the part one,I had talked how companies are confused over choice of brand ambassadors and what confusion gets created sometimes.

In this part the dilemma is that whether certain qualities of a celebrity should be associated with a brand or by default whole of his/her personality gets automatically associated with the brand.

All the ads of Accenture always featured Tiger Woods playing Golf,talking about Golf,tackling obstacles on the golf course.It was all about Golf.None of the ads had shown Tiger as a perfect family man or a loyal husband.None of the companies had associated any quality other than Golf Skills with the brands.

But sometimes actually the Brand can take a beating due to the brand ambassador.Nike already has started to face it.There are Mock Ads based on Tiger Woods Nike Ads which make fun of the current situation.’Just Did It’ is being used as mockery of the original Nike’s Famous line ‘Just Do It’.

In this case,Golf Skills of Tiger Woods didn’t come to rescue.

So the question is Does overall image of brand Ambassador matters or is it his primary Quality(e.g. Golf) which is most important ?

Near home, we see that more socially stable ambassadors have remained marketers favourite.e.g. SRK endorses much more brands than Salman Khan whose social image is not as stable as SRK.

Its true that a Brand Ambassador becomes the face of the brand and people sub-consciously associate Brand with the celebrity’s personality and social life.People who might hate a cheat or scandalous personalities might not buy Gillette or a Nike

But at the same time, i think about the business Tiger Woods have brought for them in the past due to his super skills in Golf.

This is a big dilemma for companies.Some made the decision against Tiger and some stood by him.Some are still evaluating.

Whether to have an ambassador for your brand or to stick by him in bad times are just few of the issues which lead to the Dilemma called Brand Ambassador Dilemma.

What Say?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

The comment 1 :

Hi Manmeet

Thanks for your blog – it was informative and gave a balanced opinion, even better than some journalists who have written articles for newspapers.

Can I answer some of your points, but first declare an interest – I am the Chief Executive of Mongoose Cricket.

The bat does allow you to hit the ball harder, but you still have to be good enough to hit it in the first place. It is not a magic Harry Potter wand!

The other point is that you are assuming that every shot played with the bat will be a mad slog over mid-wicket. This is not true. The batsmen who use the Mongoose best are those who are very good technically. You can play a beautiful cover drive with the Mongoose.

Professional players love the bat and its new companion – the Mongoose CoR3 which has just been launched. It is longer than the Mongoose MMi3 but still has no splice in the handle (see http://www.mongoosecricket.com for details.)

In the next month Mongoose will sign up a number of well-known professionals to use the bats – including, we hope, an Indian cricket legend. Remember…the news was first made public on the Manmeet Sabharwal blog!

Best wishes and keep up the great work with your blog

Dan

Comment 2 :

Update from this morning – West Indian, Sussex and Deccan Chargers all-rounder signs up with Mongoose. He will start using the bats today.

Comment 3 :

Dwayne Smith – for those who couldn’t guess the name!

My blog of fame !

The news about Indian Batsman joining the gang was first made public on the Manmeet Sabharwal blog!

Who it can be  guys? Any Guesses ?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

When a person hears the word Punjab,a lot and lot of associations start to generate in one’s mind.

From mustard fields to the 5 rivers,from music to culture,from people to workmanship,from ego to fights,Different pictures get created in the mind.

Like a good brand the meaningful name PUNJAB-Punj Aab-The land of 5 rivers Ravi,Beas,Chenab,Jhelum and Satluj adds to the equity.

Punjab is no more just a state,its an ever growing brand.

When we talk about a brand we think what makes it a brand how is it different from the rest?

So when it comes to Punjab what is special or different about it?

1) People : People rather Punjabis have an unique identity.Easy,Happy go lucky,hardworking people are attributes what we associate them with.

The motto of Punjabis (as we say these days),”Work Hard Party Harder!”

A Punjabi never fears from work,Whether its tilling fields early morning or it is working hard in factory.

Whether it is working in an Engineering company or managing a company,Punjabis are always on the forefront.

A famous line goes for them ,”Punjabiyan Di Shaan Vakhri”

2) Culture : Punjabi Culture is famous worldover,Whether its the Unique Turban or it is the Phulkari(embroidery of flowers on shawls or dupatta).Or it is the famous Patiala Salwar or the Chaadra(similar to a Dhoti).

This culture is the normal way of living.

Immortal Love stories also form part of Punjabi culture like Heer Ranjha,Mirza Sahiba,Sassi Punno etc

3) Music : Punjabi Music is one of the strong reasons that the other qualities of Punjab are coming out.Whole world is dancing to the tunes of Bhangra(and Giddha).The unique style of music is catching attention of the masses.

No new bollywood movie these days get released without a Punjabi song.Initially there was just influences of Punjabi music.But these days Core Punjabi songs are being directly used in the movies directly and people are liking it and swinging on them.Whether it was Mundiyan ton bach ke rahin or it was Jee Karda from Singh is Kinng! Or it is the latest Aahun Aahun from Love AajKal!

Names like Gurdas Mann,Harbhajan Mann,Mika or Malkit Singh are no strangers anymore.

These all points are adding to the brand equity of Punjab.

4) Place : God has given Punjab the gift of land,the fertile soils and the 5 rivers(now just 2.5 are with India).Punjab is the biggest producer of foodgrains for India.

The historical monuments like Harmandar Sahib(The Golden Temple),Jallianwala bagh add to the subtleness of Punjab.

5) Food : Punjabi Cuisini is again a brand in itself. Be it the Tandoori Chicken or the Daal Makhani.All Indians or foreigners relish them equally.How can i forget the very chilled,sweet(or salty),yummy Lassi(The world famous drink in Punjab ).And who can forget Makki Di Roti te sarson da saag(One more brand in itself).Butter Chicken in Ludhiana or Tikke in Amritsar,the list never ends.(The Pic below is making me feel like going back home  right now and ask my mom to prepare it right away)

Makki Di Roti te Sarson da Saag

There are countless Punjabi Dishes that have become a part of daily routine of many across borders.

Even in places like Mumbai and Hyderabad,Punjab theme restaurants have opened.Urban Tadka,Angithi etc are all banking on the Punjab Brand.Even in Places like US and UK the Punjabi food card works.

6) Hospitality : ‘Jee Aayan Nu’ (welcome) is just the start of the Punjabi Hospitality.Punjabis will leave no stone unturned in treating the guest at home.

Punjabi weddings are the perfect examples of that.Big Fat Punjabi Weddings are themselves a brand(Personally i don’t like the concept of spending such hefty amounts for a day but people do so the concept sells)

All the above 6 points in totality contribute to the brand called Punjab.

Punjab has witnessed bad times too. Punjabis on the either side took the worse of Partition in 1947.

Terrorism in Punjab took 10 years out of it and left a normal Punjabi terrified.

But Punjab came out of both and emerged stronger every time.

Punjabiyat is not limited to the boundary of Religion (or a Country) that is why i have not included any religion here because Punjabiyat is an attitude,a way of life,a statement, a brand.

In the end i am leaving you with Gurdas Mann’s famous Punjabi Song about Punjab.People who understand the language enjoy the song and others watch the video for authentic Punjab Beauty.

You can also read Brand Hyderabad if you liked this.

Enjoy the video

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

Even we all have noticed all ads of watches and clocks show 10:10.

I had read about that something in childhood so recollected a bit but could not remember properly then we started to browse net.

First we got very interesting ones (infact funny ones) but no one was close to reality or what i had read years ago.just to share with you some interesting ones.

• The clock was invented at 10:10 so in honour the time is kept 10:10.
• It was the time when America dropped bomb on Hiroshima.
• Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at 10:10 so in his honour the time is set that way.
• Even JFK was shot at the same time.

But when we searched properly i got what i wanted.

Its a industry standard or marketing practice set by TIMEX.

The funda is in clock hour and minute hand show perfect same digit only twice 10:10 and 5:5 but 10:10 looks more pleasing and symmetrical to human eyes so thats why 10:10 has been preferred over 5:5.

One more thing is that both hands show the logo or emblem of the manufacturer in the centre.

I found one more interesting thing that prior to this due to above reason 8:20 was used as standard,but it was later discontinued because it showed clock with a frown face and was not considered good for the customers.

So 10:10 was made the standard as it was

1) symmetrical

2) two perfect digits for hour and minute hands

3) ‘Smile’ Look

So this was the story of clocks showing 10:10 in ads.

Comments Please!

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

In actual Processes are a good thing to have in a company,organization or even your life but today human has become a bleddy slave of these processes.

He is missing the obvious.Our corporate world is stinking of this process problem.

90% of us very often interact with unknown call centre guys and listen to this stuff regularly,”Sir! It will take n hours as per our process to complete.”

You say,”arey it wasn’t my fault! it was due to you!Everything is compete from my side!”

The reply is ,”Sorry for inconvinience Sir! but as per our PROCESS it will take this much time,Sorry again”

A fight at the call centre also focused on similar problem.

The below cartoon will further clear the grim situation.

Softwares like Oracle and SAP are supposed to simplify our business and make us smarter but whats happening is directly opposite.

I once went to a Reliance Wellness store,i bought a Crocin pack(10 tablets) and one more thing.Total bill was 20 rs.I went to the counter.The guy at the counter by mistake made a bill of rs 200 by mistake.After he realized his mistake,he started to force me to buy something worth Rs 180 so that he can adjust it.I said are you mad?He said Sir now the bill is made he cant do anything,I was like what crap?

Again the person was actually acting like a slave of bleddy PROCESS.Then someone came he did something with the PC and gave me a new bill and i got away from it.

Have a look at this now

An average person these days is burdened with the stale processes so much that he has lost his independence to use his own brain.

Whats the reason ?

1) Are we too fearful these day?

2) have we become ineffecient ?

Today we are the slaves of Processes and computers,may be future is even worse.We may be doing work for robots made by us as is feared  from ages.

What you think?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

So where do they test the power of their bike?

1) Be awake till 2 am in the night then come out on roads and burn the tyres 2) Find a lonely place on the out skirts and then test your bike muscle.

But who has go the time and money to do that?

So many of us( i too own a Unicorn 150 cc) are happy winning the red light races.As soon as the light turns green, we notice a lot of such bike owners racing and zooming past each other.This last about a km but the guy who leaves all behind behaves as if he won some race.

This is the part todays bike manufacturers are targetting.They make their bike powerful and claims like 0-60 in flat 5 secs and etc etc are common.The bike who wins this small race actually will win the sales race.

I dont know whether i made some sense or not but the trend is growing.

Watch out!

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

A shock which actually stuck the cricketing world on 22nd may 2009.Just have a look at the shock.

This is a Cricket Bat!!! I have never seen a shock like this

This new bat has been launched specially for T20 cricket.It confirms to all MCC standards.According to official website

The Mongoose MMi3

• Evolutionary step that gives unparalleled attacking advantage
• Revolutionary design hits faster, harder, further
• The shot that got you four now gets you six
• Conforms to MCC Laws
• 20% more power than a conventional bat
• 15% more bat speed
• Sweet spot more than twice the size of a conventional bat
• Hand crafted in England
• Limited Edition custom made bats only
• Massive edges from shoulder to toe
• Massive toe
• Huge profile across entire blade
• Available in all weights from light to mammoth
• Made from Top Grade English Willow: Grades 1–3 only

After reading all this on different websites and watching videos of it.I am in state of confusion. just have a look at this video

A bat specially designed for Twenty20 cricket, called “The Mongoose” and approved by the Marylebone Cricket Club (guardians of the game), has hit the English market on the eve of the World Twenty20 tournament.This probably is the first time since 1771 that a fundamental alteration in the shape of a cricket bat has been authorised. The willow is described as “an attacking response to the way Twenty20 is played”. The MCC have pronounced it legal. In the Mongoose, the handle is 43 percent longer and the blade 33 percent shorter than a conventional bat. This is said to produce 20 percent more power and 15 percent more bat speed than a regular bat.(courtesy The Tribune)

The main thing to notice here is that it is approved by MCC.Players like Sturat Law are promoting it.It is said that this bat is made after consultaion with players as per their needs for T20 cricket. Even Lou Vincent (a somewhat known name) is promoting it.Now after what i have read and seen ,it seems in recent future we actually might see this bat in action. But are we ready for it.I dont say this is mockery of Cricket but it cant be cricket.Generations have passed by seeing the original and cricket bats and playing with it.

Change should be good,it should not change the original beyond recognition.The new cricket bat seems like a tool for some other game but not cricket.Same is being discussed in the following video(look at what the inventor of the bat has to say on usage of this bat and its superiority over a conventional bat).He also says that in T20 there is no defensive shot so the bat is kept shorter.So means without defence its not even cricket sir!He says a lot of about cricket and its change(watch his interview with the journalist who asks relevant questions).

With this bat terms like cover drive , middle of the bat etc would be gone. T20 has glorified cricket for sure.We should promote it.This can be called future of cricket but should we change the Cricket as such.

Tomorrow a new company would come out with a new ball which can be hit easily to a distance.Some cork or rubber balls.MCC would approve that also .

I am not at all saying that changes should not be there but changing Cricket is an issue.I dont know what you are thinking.

Just imagine Sachin holding this bat!!

This might become an interesting debate in the future.So get ready guys Cricket is ready to change.And also get ready for seeing this bat over and over once AajTak or India TV even gets a Whiff of it(i am surprised that they have not discussed it till now)

There are many chances.Different bats for different types of cricket.

Test ke kiye normal bat,One day a little different bat and for T20 mongoose bat.

There are even chances that T20 cricket would be merged slowly to baseball.Both games will mix and a new game would be formed.Players from baseball who have no chance to play for their teams might come to T20 cricket with such mongoose bats and try to hit homerun on every ball.Everything makes good business sense but What will happen to our Cricket,the great game called Cricket?

What say Mr Vijay Mallya , nice business idea ?

What Say?

Update : In the IPL 3 2010,two batsmen are using Mongoose bat with great effect,Mathew Hayden(CSK) and Andrew Symonds(DC).Indians have been introduced to the mongoose through IPL.Mongoose have strong plans for India.They even have launched a website especially for India.

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.