#Unboxing

समीर की कटिंग चाय

2020-08-18T12:26:00.003+05:30

शाम को 5:00 बजे काफी बार ऑफिस के पास समीर की टपरी पर कटिंग चाय पीने जाते हैं। ये कोई आम चाय नहीं हैं; इसका स्वाद और अपनापन कुछ अलग़ हैं। चाय पीते समय थोड़ी देर के लिए हम सब कुछ भूल जाते हैं । जैसे वो चाय मानो एक नयी उम्मीद दे देती।

ऐसा नहीं है की समीर बहुत अच्छी चाय बनाता है या उसकी टपरी के कप गरम पानी से धोये जाते हैं। पर फिर भी यहाँ हर टाइप के, साइज के और क्लास के लोग आते है। यहाँ रुकते, चाय पीते और फिर भीड़ में कहीं खो जाते। हर रोज़ न जाने कितने लोग इस टपरी पर चाय पीने आते है। शायद यहाँ की चाय का असली स्वाद टपरी की चहल — पहल में है।

जब लोगों को चाय पीते समय आपस में बातें करता देखता हूँ तो सोचता हूँ की ये टपरियां अपने में कितनी सारी कहानियाँ समेटे हुए हैं। पर अब शायद सब बदल जायेगा।

एक छोटे से वायरस ने सब बदल दिया; हमारी सोच, समझ और दुनिया को देखने का नज़रिया। आज हम अपने घरों में बांध हैं। किसी को नहीं पता आगे क्यां होने वाला हैं। सब बस उम्मीद लगा के बैठे हैं।

इन सबके बीच समीर अपनी टपरी बंद करके गांव चला गया हैं। पता नहीं उसे बस मिली या पैदल गया। कुछ खाया भी या नहीं।

शहर और सड़के सब खाली दिखते हैं। फिर ये भी तो सच है की ये शहर, सड़के और विज्ञानं हमने ही तो बनाये है। हम लड़ेगें और ज़रूर जीतेंगे। हमको यही तो आता है।

और फिर एक दिन समीर भी वापस लौट आएगा, अपनी गरम कटिंग चाय के साथ। वो चाय जिसकी हर जुसकी एक नयी उम्मीद देती है। और शायद जिसको पीके, हम ये सब कुछ भूल जायेंगे।

Revamp. Reboot. Relaunch.

2019-12-04T15:31:00.007+05:30

In the year 2019, the Cellphone Industry has experienced some unconventional resurrections.

People were delighted to see the newest version of the Nokia 3310; it was the same time when LG decided to bring back its iconic Moto RAZR. The new Moto RAZR has all the elements of a great smartphone; compact design, dual-screen, and brilliant camera.

But this is not about the greatness of any phone. It's solely about the LACK OF NEW IDEAS or LACK OF GOOD IDEAS, precisely.

Today, the biggest challenge that any industry, irrespective of the domain they operate into, is facing is that of NEWNESS. Most of the products/ services are nothing but old wine in a new bottle.

Be it movie industry where reboots have instilled optimism into directors and producers, or for that matter, an automobile industry, where marketers are too bullish with the relaunch of Baleno and Santro. One would argue that these relaunches/ reboots aim to satisfy customers' need. But in reality, they look too familiar with an evident 'touchup.'

Is this an era of 'Idea-bankruptcy'? Cannot we think NEW?

I believe we are too scared of new. We feel that 'invention is outdated and revamp is relevant.' An invention needs a lot of hard work and patience. But revamp needs just a good strategy. Or it is safe to relaunch than to invent? 'To be on the safe side' is the new normal and resonates across marketing corridor. It seems the phenomenon: Idea-bankruptcy has crippled our minds.

Being Relevant

2014-09-18T18:40:00.002+05:30

On the night of 9^th Sept., when most of us were asleep, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple was busy announcing the iPhone 6 flagship and an overly expensive Apple Watch.

Kudos to the corporate communications dept. of Apple, their efforts paid off. Now even Ramus and Shyamus of the world knows about iPhone 6/6 Plus, Apple Watch and what not.

So, in this particular blog post, I have refrained from talking about specifications, pros/cons or any other kind of technical analysis.

Here, my objective is to understand - Why does Apple need a bigger iPhone?

The most obvious answer would be that customer preferences have changed over the years; ‘Bigger is better’ has taken over ‘Small is beautiful.’ Especially in the electronic segment, right from TV screens to Refrigerators and Wristwatches to Smartphones, everything has really grown up in size.

And Apple has never ignored Darwin’s theory of 'Survival of the fittest.’ So, without wasting any more time they had launched bigger screen phones.

I genuinely feel that more than survival, it is about, ‘Being Relevant.’ Something Nokia had failed to understand. They had clearly ignored the ‘relevance’ factor and died an unprecedented death.

In an interview with a well-known magazine, Tim Cook had once said, "You have to keep innovating and that to not innovate is to die."

So, it is imperative for any organisation to keep innovating their services or products, otherwise they would perish. And it is equally important that whatever you innovate, it should be relevant, especially during these fast-changing times.

‘Being Relevant’ is not merely important for brands or organisations’, it is important at the individual level as well. For instance, an engineer without an updated knowledge and skill set will definitely stop at some point on the growth ladder.

In nutshell, I really appreciate Tim Cook for his guts and ‘Being Relevant.’

P.S. I own a BIG SIZE (5 inches) Xiaomi Mi3

'Two and Half Girlfriend' is a marketing gimmick.

2014-09-03T15:57:00.002+05:30

It didn’t come to me as a surprise when I saw the cover page of India Today, claiming that Mr. Bhagat (the king of English pulp fiction) has managed to sell over eight million copies within a month of the launch of his new book.

So why am I not surprised? The reason is simple. In my previous blogpost (Two and Half Girlfriend; a marketing gimmick or literary work??), I had raised certain questions regarding the intention behind 'Two and Half Girlfriend.' I wrote:

The summary seems lame and I’m not so sure if this story will entice readers and can truly produce any interest (subjective). I doubt, if it is more than ‘a boy meets a girl’ story. But I can surely say that the writer, publishing house and eCommerce partner must have seen a lot of potential in this not-so-exciting story.

So, a book with strange title and an equally strange story

a book which is still unavailable in the open market

a book which can only be PREORDERED from an eCommerce site

and a book, about which readers are clueless has managed to cross eight millions mark…

This is possible only through smart MARKETING.

Two and Half Girlfriend; a marketing gimmick or literary work??

2014-08-26T12:21:00.002+05:30

Three weeks ago, I saw the below ad on front page of ‘The Times of India.’ It was the launch ad of a book; ‘Two and Half Girlfriend' by India's well-known author Chetan Bhagat.

Being an ad guy, first I'd tried to assess it in terms of layout, color, message and overall appeal. And it’d managed to pass the creativity-test with flying colours. Then I'd tried to find out the strategy behind the FRONT PAGE ad. But before I discuss all that, I would really want you to go through the summary of this book.

“Madhav is a Bihari boy with big dreams who falls in love with the beautiful Riya, rich lass from Delhi. There are some fundamental differences between the two. Madhav’s English isn’t all that great, but Riya speaks the best English. Madhav wants Riya to be his girlfriend but Riya disagrees. She wants them to be just friends but he definitely wants more. Riya finally comes up with a suggestion, a compromise – she agrees to become his half-girlfriend! Chetan Bhagat presents a simple and beautiful love story that will move you with all the nuances of a modern-day relationship. It also inspires you to realize your individual dreams.”

Frankly, the summary seems lame and I’m not so sure if this story will entice readers and can truly produce any interest (subjective). I doubt, if it is more than ‘a boy meets a girl’ story. But I can surely say that the writer, publishing house and eCommerce partner must have seen a lot of potential in this not-so-exciting story.

As indicated, it’s a love story of a Bihari boy and a rich girl from Delhi. A boy from Bihar as the central character / protagonist doesn't seem so convincing to me atleast. So why would anybody write such a book? Let us ponder over some of the reasons:

· Recently, Flipkart has raised funds worth $1 billion and became the eCommerce giant of India. Inorder to sustain their leadership position, they would definitely exploit such available opportunities. And therefore I think, they have bought exclusive rights to sell ‘Two and Half Girlfriend.'

· With the Indian eCommerce giant on your side, nothing can go wrong and therefore the writer and publisher both are sure about the higher ROI.

· In India, eCommerce trend is catching up fast. Thus, playing the ‘exclusivity’ card, it has become far easier to sell anything and everything. And I’m sure the 'front page ad' would have inspired so many budding writers and publishing houses to create enough hype through an AD on the front page with a tag saying, 'PREORDER NOW!'

· Readers who haven't yet tasted Mills and Boons, Sidney Sheldon, Harry Potter and possibly, Jeffery Archer are well aware of Mr. Bhagat and his bequest. He knows his audience well.

· Lastly, the publication house might have failed to tap Bihar (3rd largest population with 73% literacy rate) market and that’s why the writer has come up with a strange book (I over expected). And this is sure to create ripples among the readers.

Whatever be the objective, but I truly feel that Mr. Bhagat is responsible for ‘the resurrected era’ where Ramu and Shyamu have been atleast reading English books…Thank you Mr. Bhagat!

Top five MUST WATCH movies

2012-02-29T13:23:00.000+05:30

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