Showing posts with label Manish Malhotra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manish Malhotra. Show all posts

18 November, 2011

UnHate the campaign, atleast for the Consumer’s sake!

 

What does UNHATE mean? UN-hate. Stop hating, if you were hating. Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think. Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.

There is so much brouhaha about the most recent campaign of United Colors of Benetton, the marquee fashion brand from Europe’s fashion capital, Italy. Benetton’s in-house design agency Fabrica has created the recent campaign among many others over the years, particularly the one which showed a blood smeared baby still attached to its umbilical cord which was also a much talked about one. Benetton also had campaigns which showed a nun kissing a priest, three hearts declaring “white, yellow and black” and so on. Over the years, Fabrica has attracted global talent to work in its think tank and has been a darling of the creative minds. The recent Unhate website has this to say;

What does UNHATE mean? UN-hate. Stop hating, if you were hating. Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think. Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.

The UNHATE Foundation, desired and founded by the Benetton Group, seeks to contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance, to combat hatred, building on Benetton’s underpinning values. It is another important step in the group’s social responsibility strategy: not a cosmetic exercise, but a contribution that will have a real impact on the international community, especially through the vehicle of communication, which can reach social players in different areas.

The Foundation will organise initiatives involving different stakeholders, from the new generations to the institutions, international organisations and NGOs, through to civil society.

The Foundation also aims to be a think tank, attracting personalities and talents from the fields of culture, economy, law and politics, and people who have gone from simple citizens to leaders of movements, distinguishing themselves through their ideas and actions against the causes and effects of hatred.

UnHate Video campaign from benetton.com

The Media frenzy, as always makes it more sensational that it seems and there is enough outrage in the internet world and the real world about this. Industry leaders from the advertising world (in India) have commented on the afaqs! website, which is as follows;

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Piyush Pandey
Executive chairperson and national creative director, Ogilvy India

I think the entire campaign is sensational and unnecessary. It is certainly edgy, but being edgy does not mean that you cross limits. A lot of people will say that it is a fantastic way of doing things, but I feel there are other fantastic ways of doing things.

K V Sridhar
National creative director, Leo Burnett

The participants of Bigg Boss are supposed to behave in a certain way. Similarly, Benetton as a brand is supposed to behave in a particular way, too. If it does not behave in that manner, then it would be unique.

One other campaign of the brand showed a blood-smeared baby still attached to its umbilical cord. As a brand, it has done several such campaigns in the past. But, this time, I feel that it has done it intelligently. The message that nations/religions should not hate each other has been conveyed effectively through the best form of expression of adore - a kiss. Leaders are representatives of the masses. If they would have shown Barrack Obama hugging Hu Jintao, then it would not have been as interesting. But, this one works and is brilliantly executed.

What does UNHATE mean? UN-hate. Stop hating, if you were hating. Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think. Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.

Arun Iyer
National creative director, Lowe Lintas

It is a controversial ad. But, that is what it is supposed to do -- create controversy. Fifty per cent of the people will feel that it is in bad taste, while the other 50 per cent will find it interesting. However, despite the like or dislike, it will induce talk-ability. I think visually, it is supposed to be debatable, but at a thought level, it is not at all a debate.

The fact that this campaign has been successful in creating a debate is by itself a success of the brand and its objective. However, it is also trying to push too far.

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Well, the big question is, Does this campaign really solve the purpose of Love, or rather, Unhate? Oh, am not sure. Does this campaign appeal to the younger generation who is the intended customer base for "Brand Benetton”? Absolutely. Over the years, Benetton has seen stiff competition from Spanish fashion giant Zara (which apparently changes the design/range at its stores every few weeks) and several other brands such as Mango, Esprit and many other local brands in several markets (Benetton has over 6,000 stores across 120 countries and clocked over 2 Billion Euros in Sales in the year 2010). In India, the brand has done well in itself, thanks to its aggressive growth strategy and plans since its turnaround in 2005 under the new leadership led by its Indian division. The campaign has just gone viral and the company plans to spend over half of its less than advertising budget of 10 Million Euros  in digital media and the balance in traditional media. Like many I too wonder if this campaign will go public in the US, China, Korea and the Middle-east – the leaders of whose countries are mentioned in the said campaign. For obvious reasons, I am sure the campaign will not feature in India as well and they dare not even dream of having Indian Politicians (sic).

All said and done, it is indeed a wonderful attention-seeking opportunity for Benetton, although it is anybody’s guess if such (unwanted) publicity would necessarily translate into Sales!

What does UNHATE mean? UN-hate. Stop hating, if you were hating. Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think. Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.

01 August, 2011

Borders–A book in itself to read for Indian Retailers!

To keep up with time is one of the biggest challenges, whether it is for individuals or for organizations. For Retailers, the challenge is two pronged; while keeping up with its tradition and background, it is equally important to keep pace, if not be ahead of its own time. A classic example is this regard is the recent announcement of liquidation of Borders, one of the most respected and well known book retailers in the world. Actually, Borders was a book store in Ann Arbor selling used books when it was started by brothers Tom & Louis Borders in 1971. Two years later, they moved to a larger location, thus pioneering the big box retail concept for book stores along with Barnes & Noble, another book retailer that is much known for its large format outlets. While the smaller, stand-alone book retailers were carrying around 20,000 – 30,000 titles, the two big retailers offered between 100,000 – 200,000 titles as well as other interesting adds-on such as comfortable seating and attractive lighting, not to forget the air-conditioned environments with coffee shops! Unfortunately, none of it has come to the rescue of Borders which would be liquidating its 399 stores soon, mainly due to its $40 million debt to creditors more than the total value of its assets. Barnes & Noble on the other hand has $900 million in assets alone and its Sales seems to be growing, especially online. B&N also has its own e-book reader – the Nook, up and against Amazon’s Kindle and Apple’s iPad, which was among the Top 10 Gadgets of 2010 on Time. 

Wall Street firm Credit Suisse estimates that B&N would take more than 50% of Borders’ business due to it store closure, although in the short-term, Borders would see higher turnover because of its liquidation sales. The most concerned due to the closure of Borders stores seems to be its loyal customers, who feel they will miss the neighbourhood stores where they have been shopping for long. Much has been debated about the Borders story, online and offline by Retail enthusiasts, strategists, customers, et al. Some say that Borders couldn’t keep pace with the Technology shift – while people were moving from hard copy books to digital, the Book Retailer was still grapping with its plans.Though it did start offering digitised versions for sale, it was a tad too slow, a little late for its times.

Thirukkural – an ancient tamil script

Back home, the story is a bit different. In India, reading habits are very different than those in the West. In a country where English as a medium of teaching is restricted to the metro cities and probably a fewer towns, regional writing (and thereby reading) is big. This leads to optimum merchandising by the book stores who often struggle with the right quantities / titles that they should carry. Large Retailers in India such as Odyssey, Crossword, Landmark, Time-Out (from Reliance Retail), etc. have focussed mostly on English titles – tried and tested with the markets that they operate in. With regards to size – almost every size has been experimented, I would say. From small 900 sqft outlets (mostly a shop-inside-a-shop or simply, shop-in-shop) to 20,000 sqft so-called flagship stores, Book Retailers in India have them all in their kitty. Books still contribute not more than 60% of their sales and about 70% of store usage. The rest of its sales and space allotment is through various other categories such as Greeting Cards, Music & Movies’ CDs, DVDs, Game consoles such as X-Box, PSP, and in some cases even perfumes and cosmetics, not to mention coffee shops such as Cafe Coffee Day in some of their stores. With a very small quantity of e-book readers being sold in the market today, digital reading is not yet as big as it is in Western countries. Experts have differentiated opinions about the growth of such devices; with cheaper imports from China and Taiwan flooding the markets, one would obviously find a higher off-take over the months to come. But having a digital reader is just the first step; the user has to subscribe reading materials online or have to buy books to read them on their readers. For which e-commerce has to be enabled and empowered. For which the user should be convinced about the safety of using their e-wallets. Well, yes long way to go.

DSC00075Crossword Book store with a Cafe Coffee day

Having said that, are Indian consumers ready to go digital? Not yet.

Satya Rao, a Mumbai resident and an automotive consultant to a large US Conglomerate who has been an avid reader of books since his childhood across various categories says he would still walk into a Retail store to buy books, although he uses his iPad for various purposes other than reading online. Manish Malhotra, a Retail professional for over 15 years and a book-freak browses online these days to zero in on a relevant subset of books which he would later explore at a book store. Anjali, a HR professional working for an IT giant that makes life easier for Retailers worldwide by providing processes and solutions however feels the store visits are more about the exposure to a large range which is limited online. Raman Kalia, a marketing professional who has built an airline and an airport over the past 8 years feels being amongst books has a charm which cannot be replicated by online book retailers / websites since one is generally limited to what they know while browsing online while a physical book store opens up even more.

I personally remember (and so would many erstwhile Madrasis, a book store by the name “Seetharaman & Co.” – a one-stop shop which would house all forms of educational reading materials. The store was vertically graded and students from all across Madras would visit the store. It was quite rare that the Retailers (who was actually a distributor) would run out of stock. And if the store didn’t have what the customer wanted, it would be made available within a certain time frame. During the late 90s, a relatively larger, modern book store opened at Nungambakkam high road in Chennai. The store, which was located in the basement of a commercial complex was a haven for all kinds of books and was one of the first of its kind which allowed enthusiasts to read books endlessly, without compelling them to buy. Founder Hemu Ramiah later sold her stake in the book store to TATA’s Retail arm and the book store is none other than Landmark - A small neighbourhood book store that grew nationally to become one of the biggest and most respected Retailer of its kind in India over the years. M Madhu, the former Head of Merchandising of Landmark is reported to have recently moved on to head Amazon’s India operations – after all, who would know better than him how to entice readers by providing what they want.

Photo Courtesy: The Hindu

So, what’s in store for Indian Book Retailers? Does the store size and titles that they carry will have an impact on the consumer’s requirements? Does providing amenities such as wide aisles, relaxed seating within air-conditioned precincts and a cafe here and there would be a strong hook to increase footfalls to the store? Do loyalty programs such as Crossword Reward programs or Landmark Fellowship to retain existing customers and increase their spends visit after visit? Well, while there are not too many clear answers for such questions, what’s sure is that Book Retailing is here to stay in India for quite some time to come. Reading is a habit, and is best to build such a habit from childhood. Many retailers have weekend activities targeting children – idea is to first bring them to the store; they would grow up reading themselves. On Digital – as mentioned before, India has its own constraints of e-commerce, starting from points of access to payment gateways. While things have improved a lot over the years, online security (or rather insecurity) is a looming factor that needs to be addressed by Retailers.

Online shopping or not, the charm of book stores would remain. For some its the romance of books and book-shelves, and for many its the enlightenment that they perceive they would get while browsing, buying and reading books. And for many, its just a customary visit every week to pick up magazines. Whichever way, Book stores are here to stay – just that the Retailers have to pull their act better, and yes NOW.

12 October, 2010

Chitti wears Ray Ban, drives a Bentley, shops at Joy Alukkas & Lifestyle

Chitti, the Robot created by its scientist Dr. Vaseegaran (both characters portrayed by the Superstar of Indian Cinema Rajnikanth) in the tamil film Enthiran (Robot in Hindi) that is directed by Shankar wears Ray Ban, Police and other designer sun glasses all through. There is a particular scene where the two of them shop diamond necklaces for their common girlfriend at Joy Alukkas, a leading name in ornamental jewellery in the southern markets in India. And the villainy Robot drives a Bentley, ransacks a Lifestyle Department Store only to stock up everything that’s needed for its lover. The scientist and his robot travel in a Mercedes CLK while the scientist’s home is shown as an exquisitely designed villa. All through the film, the leading characters including Aishwarya Rai wear designer stuff, exclusively crafted by ace designer Manish Malhotra who shot to fame since the late 90’s when he designed outfits for the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and his contemporaries of the Hindi film industry. This is Manish’s second outing in the South after the previous hugely successful Sivaji (2007) which had the super-hit combo of Rajnikanth & Shankar. Meanwhile, Salman Khan’s recent Dabangg portrayed him as a Police officer whose moustache and Ray Ban became more popular at some stage than the plot of the movie itself.


So, what’s with film actors and Brands? What is the underlining message? Well, there are two, in my opinion. One, that the film shows the characters as having been “evolved” using the latest – be it gadgets or cars, clothes or accessories. Second, “brand placement” or “product placement” is seen as a great opportunity by many brands (including retailers) to create aspirational value. While the trend has been popular in English and European movies for many decades (James Bond and his love for cars and gadgets, for example), the trend has been on and off in Indian movies. I remember another Tamil movie “Tenali” (2001) which featured Kamal Hassan as a “hyper” patient who is scared of almost everything in life, portraying Toyota Qualis as a very reliable car when it hits the edge of a mountain wall and nothing happens to its occupants. Shah Rukh Khan in the movie “Don” (2006) sported Tag Heuer watches which became hugely popular among the relevant target groups. Most recently, Sonam Kapoor in the film Aisha (2010) sported trendy bags and sun glasses while also shopping at Delhi’s DLF Emporio, the most upmarket Mall that houses Dior, CK, etc.


But the big question is do these product placements have any impact on “consumers”? Yes and No. While there is certainly an impact on the consumers about the awareness of the brands and products, the aspiration to own them is limited, given the fact that most of these brands appeal to the top-end of the society. As much as a Rajnikanth or Salman fan who pays over Rs. 300 for a movie ticket during the first week of release would love to own one of those sun glasses, he just can’t afford it. And it applies to clothes, accessories, and even cars. So, do these placements atleast bring walk-ins into the Retail stores? Ace designer Deepika Govind feels not necessarily as those who wear designer stuff may not want to wear something that’s very common. “Such clients follow global fashion and hence do not pick up something off the shelf worn by actors and actresses that are available off the shelf”, she says. It could be a bit different for street wear as promoted by the likes of Hrithik Roshan or Ranbir Kapoor but the following is limited and appeals mostly to the urban audience. Budding designer Aarti Tibrewal opines that the characters portrayed by films stars have indeed impacted what the audience what to wear. “At the same time, the commercial success of the movie has much to do with the brand recall,” she says. For example, the Anarkali dresses worn in them movie “Devdas” (2002) were popular also because the movie was a box-office hit, while Aisha didn’t fare as well as it was expected to be and hence the follow-up was also mute.


Retailers like Cafe Coffee Day and many other restaurants and bars allow a lot of movie shootings at their outlets so the audience are able to connect easily with their favourite hang-outs.  While some charge the producers for letting their “space on hire” a few exchange it for the publicity they would derive. Brands, on the other hand use this primarily as a promotional tool, taking their product range to a wider audience. While the topic of “success on product placements” can be debated a lot, immediate results vouch for its success. A quick check at the eyewear counters of Department Stores in Mumbai and Chennai / Bangalore confirmed that there were a number of enquiries for sunglasses after shoppers saw Dabangg & Enthiran respectively. May not be the same for the Mercedes and Bentley though. Anyway, I am planning to increase my Ray-Ban collection, so what about you?  


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