The Lungi dance... Aspiration or Desperation?

Dear Mr. SRK,
Been brought up worshiping Bollywood in the heartland of Kollywood, I have always been and am your fan. I write this letter not to scorn you but to sympathize with you, for you are an Honorable Man :P. In DDLJ you showed the world (except Mumbai local train commuters) the best way to get into moving trains. You made the Satya watching, RGV fans view the romantic run-in-slow-motion in the field sequences in loop. You showed the world how the mere stretching of your hands (and your hands alone) in slow motion again, creates a magnetic pull that draws women towards you. You inspired and heavily funded a team lead my Gautam Gambhir to win an IPL. Ha! You sir are a living Legend. But you also made a song video as part of your soon-to-be released movie, 'Chennai Express' as a tribute to an actor sung by Honey Singh (oops, missed the Yo Yo part :P ).

Please click on the video. (View at your own risk)

I am amazed and truly intrigued to know why a mega legendary star like you, the Baadshah(King) of Bollywood would want to piggy bag on the modest popularity (Highest paid Indian actor with the biggest and craziest fan base, with first day shows premiered from 4am) of Mr. Shivajirao Gaikwad a.k.a Superstar Rajinikanth, the Thalaivar meaning 'Head of Heads??' Someone once told me that as one goes higher and higher to the top, they get more and more insecure. If you say that you aren't insecure, either the above line is flawed or you just aren't going higher. I know you desperately need a hit but here is why I don't think it's a good idea for you to have made this video.

• Yes, we Rajini fans do get hysterical with joy when we see our Thalaivar on screen but we definitely can't tolerate it when you, the badminton champ's daughter in a baby pink chiffon and 50 odd extras with lungis are jumping around. You should have just vacated the space and left just Thalaivar's poster.
• Yes, the song is mildly catchy, and its a good idea to have a tie-up with the Yo Yo fella, but since 'everyone' is doing that, it brings down your equity.
• Why the Thalaivar? You did it mildly in Ra.One and now its bigger. By this association and tribute too, you are bringing down your brand image. Where is your self-confidence? Where is the SRK who comes on every channel and claims that 'He is King' (in a more refined version of Muhammad Ali)?

I read that the Thalaivar did give his consent to go ahead with this song. But whatever PR that I know you would do and are doing now, if this movie fails to impress, (impress = keeps me in the theatre through the length of the movie and not make me curse myself at the end of it), then you may lose a fan. You may have millions of fans but I have just a handful of people like you to idolize. ( a modified senti dialogue from Thalaivar's movie :P ) So it's important to me that I don't cease to be your fan. I want to see the SRK who walked and talked like the true Baadshah. The witty, suave SRK who let me be mesmerized watching Don, Kal Ho Na Ho, Baazigar and many others.

A fan with fingers crossed (well not literally, duh),
VB :)

SUPERMAN, BATMAN ... SALESMAN!! - Part2 - Authors!

The Shiva Trilogy: 1.7 Million Copies…Rs 40 Crores in earnings

The Shiva trilogy with its three books The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and the latest being the Oath of the Vayuputras is a revolution both in terms of literary magnificence and as a marketing marvel. The series is quite simply about the life of the ruthless warrior, passionate lover, majestic dancer, the pot smoking ‘cool God’, Lord Shiva. The man behind all of this is its author, a genius marketer, Mr Amish Tripathi.

20 rejections before his first but Rs 5 Crore much before his next    

Amish’s work of the Immortals of Meluha was turned down by around 20 publishers before Westland Ltd. agreed to publish it. Westland has been laughing away to the bank and has also been generous enough by offering a whooping Rs5 Crore to Amish for his ‘yet to be even thought of’ book.

The unique Positioning

The main reason his work was rejected by so many publishers initially was because of the fact that they were all confused about its positioning. Was it mythology, fiction, fantasy or philosophy? This book has brought in a new positioning of Mythological Fiction which sure has been well received and has several other authors cashing in with more releases in this genre.

The Author and his little mystery that sells

Following the likes of Chetan Bhagat and Karan Bajaj, the IIT/IIM educated boring-banker-turned-cool-writer tag has had a positive impact on building the brand value books. Amish Tripathi has a similar background but what some research about the author reveals which is not mentioned in the book is the fact that Amish was initially an atheist and the spirit of Lord Shiva drew him to become his religious follower. This generates curiosity in the minds of the reader and curiosity sells.

The marketing on the book cover – 5 second attraction

It’s normal for books to have testimonials on its covers but here is what Amish did differently. He believed that the story and the feel of the theme should be conveyed in 5 seconds as soon as someone gets hold of it. This is portrayed by the spectacular artwork and a single line that conveys the story. The Immortals of Meluha carried the line – ‘THE STORY OF A MAN, WHOM LEGEND TURNED INTO A GOD.’  

Videos, Sounds tracks & Social media – another list of firsts

Marketing of books were a concept still very nascent in India. In my view the best marketing move made by Amish was the release of the video that became a sensation on YouTube. The series of videos or trailers gave the viewers a glimpse of the story and there were also separate videos about prominent characters of the book. This method of advertising the characters rather than the story or theme is a successful strategy used by Hollywood greats like Quentin Tarantino and by some Indian movies like Shootout at Lokhandwala.

Think WhyNot, the creative agency behind the great work with the book’s promotions has also come out with a new music album, Vayuputras- Sountrack of Shiva triology books with tracks sung by musical heavyweights such as Sonu Nigam Taufiq Qureshi and others. Karan Johar has bagged the rights to make a full length feature film on the book starring Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra.

Their Facebook page also has a whole range of offerings from allowing you to participate in polls, discussions, providing information about Lord Shiva etc. The author is also quite active on twitter too.

In the Stores… and out on the streets

With fans lining up early in the morning waiting to get their hands on the books, the store managers and other staff members og big stores like Landmark , Crossword etc. have a challenging time the moment the shutters are raised. Apart from the in-store promotions, the store ensures dedicated staff and logistics at the time of release. They also focus on bundling offers with all three books sold as packages with discounts. Even in the streets the sellers of the counterfeit copies have to gear up for the demand. Online shopping options provide big discounts and encourage pre-ordering of the books.

The New age writer – a Marketer in every writer

A Vikram Seth or Amitav Gosh would simply write their book and let the publisher do all the marketing but the times are changing. Readers want to be more connected with the author. Authors have to be active on Twitter, be more open about their personal lives, be present during book launches and ultimately be great marketers. Chetan Bhagat believed in pricing his books less than Rs100, and is very active on social media; Ravi Subramanian actively promotes his books in schools and colleges, likewise the roles of authors today have become more dynamic.

What I like and recommend

The first aspect about the marketing of the book which I loved is the fact that it stayed away from the ‘Hinduism’ tag. It is very easy for a genre like this to be given that branding but the author stayed out of it completely (thanks to the coolness element of the protagonist). I have grown up listening to great stories of Lord Shiva so although these books are not in line with what I know, the fact that it is as close to the ‘believed reality’ as it can be is satisfying. In terms of the creative used, it is pleasing to see the level of curiosity maintained by not revealing the face of the characters and art work that seem like paintings and not cartoons or fantasy-like on the book cover and in promotions.

What I recommend Mr Amish to do is to take this product and make it an international sensation. He can start by making theatre plays of it and staging it on Broadway shows abroad. But ultimately the fact that my 14yr old cousin and 91yr old grandfather read it with the same enthusiasm makes it an evergreen winner.  

A Guide to the 6 Best Social Media Jobs by 'Six Little Big Things' !!!

On Facebook, Twitter or Blogs all day long? Here are 6 ways to make money out of it... 6LittleBigThings Brings you a kind-of wacky presentation of the coolest 6 Jobs in the Social Media space. 

for more like: www.facebook.com/6LittleBigThings

this video was made part of a Social Media Class exercise. The characters in the video are real and are graded based on your 'like' of the same. ;)

SUPERMAN, BATMAN ... SALESMAN!! - Part1 - @ the traffic signal!

No matter what B-schools teach you, or marketing workshops demonstrate or the best of the bestsellers express, nothing quite compensates for the on field experience when it comes to a sales job. One of my greatest fascinations has been the traffic signal salesmen, well salesBOYS or salesKIDS actually. The 'dudes' who tap on your car window when you are in the most frustrated state because you have just been stalled for a few seconds by the red signal (otherwise you would have gone and saved Rapunzel :P) and yet try and make a sale. Virtually anyone who has a flashy educational qualification from a fancy college, has a decent amount of work experience and has a few friends at high places to endorse anything that they say or write  has written or is in the process of writing a book to throw general gyaan to the world. So if our SALESDUDE here were to write a book on Marketing I am pretty sure he will do a great job (without testimonials on the first page of course) and do an even better job of selling it :P. The following are the aspects that he would definitely have to cover, well in his own way.

Segmentation & Targeting - He knows his customers when he sees them. Pot-bellied, Paan chewing, post 50yrs dyed hair man on a scooter with 'Jai Maharashtra' stuck all over it is not his customer.

Positioning - The customers get just one glace at the books he is carrying. So his window of sale or the aperture is only for those few seconds. The SalesDUDE understanding this the best. He is left with only a pair of hands with which he works wonders with its positioning right from stacking them up right to displaying the titles at eye levels of the customers.

Product - Only the latest or the best of the best sellers are sold in his collection.

Price - Most of them don't work on a fixed price basis. He milks the ones who don't bother too much about price and whose eyes brighten up on seeing the book and has his bargain fights with the ones who just want to make a cheap quick buy.

Promotion - The promotion for all his products are already done by the original manufacturers or owners of the book. ;)

Place - It is very crucial for him to be in the right place at the right time.

Brand Building - Quickest service with the latest collections, the best deals is the only brand he will ever build.

Brand Obesity -  It is important that he does not overload himseld with a variety of books. He has to pick and choose the right collections that the market needs.

Velocity - Unsold stock is his worst nightmare. So if and when he smells his stock piling up, he will sell it at a throw away price (perfect understanding of Fixed cost, variable cost blah blah)

Competition - He takes on the biggest players in the market. Be it online medium or the stores whatever be the discount they all require the customers to come to them but only in this case the SalesDUDE goes to the customer.

Appearance - However insensitive this might sound, the poorer he looks the better the chances of his making a sale. So the books that talk about 'Power Dressing' or bosses who insist on polished shoes and expensive suits to have an effect on the sale would be totally disproved.

His biggest challenge, his worst Boss - The traffic signal... This is what makes his job the toughest sales job in the world. Quite simply because he has to manage his marketing (Segmentation, targeting and positing), his sales pitch, respond to customer's queries, fight the customer's dilemma, make the sale, deliver the product, collect the cash and return the exact change ALL BEFORE THE COUNTDOWN OF THE SIGNAL DROPS TO ZERO.

Ab-bridged : Assam Diaries

Deep into the mysteries of North Eastern parts of India... The beauty of the rusticity and tranquility of nature... 
At Muhuramukh, Golaghat District, Assam, India

http://bharath2488.deviantart.com/gallery/

One hell of a trip...with awesomely weird company, Lavanya and Sriram, and the whole Muhura bunch, from the 4km walks to Kharab Ji to Creepy Ji to several other "Ji's" to the morning company and basically "surviving"