Mobile Marketing: Keeping it Simple!

My head is thronging with questions, queries, doubts, confusions all bundling upto frustration and impatience too. Well the first of these is why is the mobile industry limiting itself to only a few limited scenario in mobile marketing. Why isn’t the industry thinking beyond the Admobs and Inmobi of the day? Its upsetting to know that more players like them are emerging indigenously. I really wish to discuss the future and the trends of this with the evangelists sitting in the various forums out there. With all this I see myself as part of a mobile revolution where I wish to make the below mentioned key players aware of the game of mobile advertising and marketing about how broad, vast and innovative could our horizons be.

Brands
Atleast abroad, the Brands have realised it is no longer enough to ‘push’ marketing campaigns at consumers, they need to involve and engage with them to find new ways to create and retain loyalty. Indian brands need to understand that there is a need to PUSH SMS BLASTS.

Mobile has given brands a unique opportunity to do this and create a two-way relationship, ultimately building product awareness, driving sales and retaining loyalty. By using mobile as part of a marketing campaign brands can reach a specific target audience, via a time-sensitive, measureable medium.

Marketing / Digital Agencies

Mobile has transformed the media landscape majorly in the U.S and to some extent in India, with the big agencies such as Ogilvy launching interactive digital divisions that includes mobile services.

The increasing sophistication of the handsets themselves, with integrated browsers, media players, high resolution imaging and cameras give agencies more scope to work with to create interactive, innovative campaigns that help drive the desired consumer engagement.

Mobile Advertising Networks

Companies such as Admob, Inmobi and Enpocket partner with mobile web sites that enjoy high traffic and offer to run advertising [text-links and graphical banners] on a revenue share basis. They make this space available to advertisers via self-serve web platforms.

More innovative means are evolved for the Advertisers that can target their campaigns according to the characteristics of mobile handset that the ad appears on, such as location, make of handset and phone capability.

Search Engines

Many customers are accessing the mobile internet through established, web-based vendors such as Yahoo, Google and MSN, rather than use the network operator’s searching tools, putting the search engines in a strong position.

Mobile Apps are a better consideration to venture in this direction. This shall minimize typing and browser time spend.

Network Operators

They have traditionally charged consumers to buy digital content from their mobile portals, and are now beginning to share demographics and mobile media consumption insights with brands as they move to advertisers funded models. The operators are moving away from the walled garden approach to portals, opening up their network to third parties, to encourage data usage through the provision of new and innovative content.

My advice to them, don’t kill innovation!

Assi hor vi neevan

A beautiful song from a beautiful blessed voice, that i discovered, makes me remember my soulmate for the dedication she has for music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUcaCYx0kzI&feature=related


Hor vi neevan ho
Bow your head even further down (in humility)

Hor vi neevan ho fakira
Fakir, bow your even head further down (in humility)

Hor vi neevan ho
Bow your head further down (in humility)

Hor vi neevan ho fakira
Fakir, bow your head further down (in humility)

Uccha saroon gharoor mein
There is great pleasure in holding the head high in arrogance

Kaddi naa phall paiye, fakira
But, that pleasure will never be fulfilling

Hor vi neevan ho fakira
Fakir, bow your head further down (in humility)

Paiye gaa deedar sahib da
One day you will be bestowed with His presence

Hor vi neevan ho
Bow your head further down (in humility)

Ho rabba koi meray dil diyan kadraan pachanay
Lord, if only someone could understand the deliberations of my heart

Mein sawali jinna naeen koi sawal
I am a seeker who seeks nothing

Mein jogan ban dar dar phir diye
I am a wanderer, roaming from one land to another

Koi na meriyan, ramzaan pachanay
No one can unravel the secrets within me

Mein jogan ban dar dar phiriyaan way
I am a wanderer, roaming from one land to another

O koi na meriyan, ramzaan pachanay
No one can unravel the secrets within me

Mein jogan…
I am a wanderer

Chal meray naal
Come along, come with me

Hor vi neevan ho
Bow your head further down (in humility)

The lyrics are taken from - http://www.themuzicworld.com

Our own IPL!

Almost daily we get into an Indian Phone League (IPL) battle at office with all us colleagues having different smartphones. Now, this really cool cartoon here very aptly relates to our mindsets for each other.

All regards to my brethren...

Courtesy www.techcrunch.com

Mobiesta: The future is here

the article mentions me as the spokesperson of my company. it had appeared in the Pioneer Newspaper in 2010. well, it won me the guilt free pass from my mom. i cud be irresponsible for a while.

What's cooking in Delhi?

Of all the businesses in Delhi, one which would never die out is that of food. The other competitor is the real estate of course. Food however is something the Delhites would never compromise with. The delicious victuals we find here have become a Part of Delhi’s rich culture.

I have often wondered what has Delhi got what we don’t find elsewhere? One of my random trips to the JNU took me to Mamu’s Dhaba. It’s a beautiful open air Dhaba in the midst of JNU’s beautiful environs. Mamu answered to my query in his typical poetic self. He in his extravagant Urdu (which I can’t recollect much of) said that any cuisine is a combination of subtle tastes. The flavours added are as varied as the climate and as exotic as the people of Delhi. Fragrant spices, pungent and warm spices are blended in different proportions for the dishes. Delhi being a melting pot has absorbed the best from every cuisine that came its way. The people here find an ease in indulging in food from their restless life.

From age-old eateries in the bylanes of the Walled City to glitzy, specialty restaurants in five-star hotels, Delhi is a moveable feast. It offers a choice of Indian and international cuisine's in different ambiences to suit varied budgets. Delhi's vendor stalls offer all sorts of food, ranging from deep-fried tikkis to fresh fruits chats. One just can’t say no to a tempting choice of Papri Chat, Gol-gappas, Raj Kachori, Kulfi Faluda etc which are on offer in the market. Furthermore, there is always a local restaurant where one can try the curries or thalis. The innumerable Chinese food outlets of the meals-on-wheels kind can gauge the popularity of this cuisine. Also, Delhi is synonymous with the omnipresent tandoor. Tandoori chicken, Chicken Tikka, Boti Kabab, tandoori roti all freshly drawn out from the tandoor, make the mouth go watering.

Delhi's restaurant landscape has always been changing since the time of Kareem’s and Moti Mahal. Numerous restaurants open up every month. Globalisation (thanks to Friedman and outsourcing) has led to the mushroom growth of Italian, Thai and International cuisine restaurants, much to the relief of the big diplomatic crowd. No wonder Delhi has also become the restaurant capital with foodies like us hovering all around.

it's a beautiful world out there.....

Meeting Jason... and knowing Edward Bernays

Deep blue eyes... excitement in his grin...smile so innocent... and a V-shaped body for a 35+ man... It was inspiring to meet Jason.. Thanks to NTK again. Well, Jason introduced me to the Great Edward Bernays (The Father of PR). I have through the night read about him and am in complete awe of him. To begin with, he was the nephew of Dear Uncle Freud!

Edward Bernays was one of the first people to expand what had been a narrow concept of press agentry seeking to influence and change public opinion and behavior. He helped shape public relations by favoring the use of endorsements from opinion leaders, celebrities, doctors and other "experts" to strengthen his clients arguments. In addition, he favored surveys, releasing the results of experiments and polls to make a better case for his clients' positions and products.

Culture saw a big change when Edward Bernays pulled off a major public relations coup called the "Torches of Freedom" march, promoting women's right to smoke in public. About a dozen society women dressed as suffragettes marched in the 5th Avenue Easter Parade, smoking openly while it was still illegal in New York and other cities.

I have always believed that Public Relations potentially holds immense Power. And I seek backing in Edward Bernays' book Propoganda which opens up with the following lines: "THE conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society." It is not surprising to note that he is refered to be the one 'who orchestrated the commercialization of a culture' by his critics.

In the year 1920, Edward Bernays first used application of psychoanalytical techniques on the masses for advertising and asked a simple question, “If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group-mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it?”

We are not at all aware but in the 1950s, some of Edward Bernays' ideas and vision helped in creating our country as a Democratic Republic by having the Indian National Congress of India adapt a Bill of Rights. Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Assembly, and Freedom of Petition were added to the Constitution of India.

Bernays defined the profession of "counsel on public relations" as a "practicing social scientist". However his Propoganda did not make him win many friends; he was called a professional poisoner by his envious enemies. Along with this, the 2002 BBC documentary The Century of the Self describes him as "undemocratic", which if given a thought to seems inclined towards rationality.

Notwithstanding these, the point which I drive home is what Edward Bernays said in an interview when he turned 100, "if this (PR) could be used for war, it can be used for peace."

How many roads must a man....

How many roads must a man walk down before he finds him a job...

How many cvs must a fresh bird file before he has a job in his hand.

And how many times must the naggings and sympathies fly before they're forever banned
The efforts my friend are blowin' in the wind, the smiles is blowin' in the wind...

I was adamant and arrogant. I knew that they didn’t know I exist. I just have to reach them and let them know, I told myself. And I posted my resumes to them. I knew I was made for ‘my kind of job’ and not the hackneyed careers that my counterparts would choose.

I realized its not working, maybe my resume needs some changes. One draft, two draft , three draft four!

I had to compromise on my dream. Yet, my optimistic self made me remember Kenny Rogers’ “little boy in a base ball hat stands in the field with his ball and bat. Says i am the greatest that is a fact, but even i didn't know, i could pitch like that.

Pitch I could, had there been a field. They blame the recession. I wouldn’t buy that.
Creativity won’t lose its value, even in recession.

If the industry can set aside its paranoia, what rational judgments can it make about the effects of the economic downturn? For a short term, clients will trim their adspends. They always do when economic gloom threatens and they always will. But such cutbacks are always cyclical. The bigger concern always is the agencies' collective bargaining power with clients. Every time the economy tumbles down, client-procurement specialists demand more bang for their bucks. These demands look set to become ever more ruthless, further jeopardising agencies' ability to service accounts effectively. This is where is the NEED for people like us!! It's not that the clients stop spending. They'll continue spending so long as they can be convinced that measured responses to their advertising are accurate.

Now having done all, my bit that is, i wait as i sing............

"O listen... Jus how many roads must a man walk down before he finds him a job..."