outdoor advertising

A perception that we all hold true in the industry is that Indian agencies lack creativity. Well a few years ago i would have agreed, when copying the west was all we Indians were understood to be good at, none the less today when we have proven ourselves across fields and when our agencies our handling multiple international accounts and have won several other awards the allegation sounds frail.

We may not pull off the most mind blowing advertising however from what i see, its not due to the fact that we lack creativity but due to the cultural differences and the technology they have access to, however today we are changing on every count including the kind of content Indian agencies are coming up with.

Today we are making the world sit up and take notice, creating new trends within, offering new mediums and opening up new avenues for reaching the consumers mind. New age advertising in India is no longer boring like it used to be a decade back.

A case in point, billboard advertising in India. Anyone noticed how billboards put up of late in metros like Mumbai are so much more creative. Now all of a sudden companies are paying more attention to the product and selling than showcasing the model, focussing on fads, coming closer to interact with the consumer on a more personal note.

Let’s look at some recent billboards, the all time favourite Amul ad, its been around forever , picking on general issues and portraying their product on those lines, the recent one was IPL cricket wherein the Amul ad said India’s premier lick. Another one would be the recent Shopper’s Stop Billboard at Bandra, Mumbai, stating that they are changing their logo. What essentially came across was the concept. it shows a couple of workmen erasing the old logo and rite next to it is the new logo of Shoppers Stop. Most of all, the hoarding looks real, multi dimensional, Classy, simple and yet so effective.

Somehow most billboards we see are built around the whole television media scene however some still manage to hold their ground and are given as much importance as the more traditional media.

Another change i see is the new form of advertising in local coffee joints and shop, which have replaced the old placards with table stickers, very hard to ignore for youngsters who spend a good hour on an average there and then there are these illusion based graphics which appear on roads and on walls which are so designed to look three dimensional. Thus if we see carefully all those mannequins that appeared outside clothes shops thanks to companies like levis have been replaced by more artistic half bodies jutting off walls or attached to glass doors and now with graphical pictures which give a similar impression. Not only these most of the retail outlets are thronged with 3 dimensional floor stickers that further act as point of purchase decision influencer.

Another smart move to innovatively occupy space is what we see in theatres today, the mirror with a projection of an ad, which goes transparent as soon as we approach it. Smart and effective usage of property ain’t it.

Well, all in all, we have reinvented media for all those consumers who now have DTH and may soon be able to watch disturbance free programs or ad free television. It is this outdoor media that will then take over and be the mode of communication to reach out to the masses.

Outdoor Advertising is a form of advertising that is targeted at people who are, “on the move” and out of their homes. Formerly one of the most popular forms of outdoor advertising consisted of Hoardings, majorly with other spaces not getting an equal amount of weightage.

Today we however don’t restrict ourselves to billboards and hoardings we now have fleet ads (ads on vehicles), or the new form of advertising in local coffee joints and shop, which have replaced the old placards with table stickers, very hard to ignore for youngsters who spend a good hour on an average there and then there are these illusion based graphics which appear on roads as floor graphics and on walls which are so designed to look three dimensional.

Smart and efficient way to occupy space i say.

changing times

Consumers

Well yes there has been a tremendous shift in consumers and their tastes as well as preferences and in all overall purchasing power, based in India i see that happening more closely with all the development happening around and the perception of people changing.

Today a city like Mumbai, which has consumers you more closely associate with, is cluttered with billboards, television advertising to such an extent that more time is spent on watching ads then actual programs. In India we still dont have complete freedom to filter unwanted ads however we are moving closer to that day thus what marketers are doing is to get more creative,

There has thus been a drastic change in the kind of billboards i see today, even the ads are more focussed towards a particular trend or fad thus making consumers take note or associate with it more easily, then we have the start of mobile message advertising, where a person can send a free message to anyone’s phone and attached to that message is a small text ad.

We are also moving towards more creative floor and table graphics which i find in cafes, where every time a person spends a good half an hour he will get a glimpse of the ad.

Then there is the usual viral advertising that again plays with the fact that its sometimes comes across as word of mouth or reference promotion than general advertising, all our gmails, yahoos, flickers and orkuts have used this.
and to mention a few good viral videos on youtube i would suggest the Cadburys gorilla campaign as a reference,

and talking about videos – plz dont miss the goa fest videos on youtube they are brilliant

then of course there are blogs however i don’t personally see their use as an advertising medium due to lack of credibility HOWEVER they are out there and deserve a mention.

None the less the best way to reach out easily is to piggy back on a trend or fad, or a promotion that serves a dual purpose, so that it leads to word of mouth. and as far as a consumer goes tickling the funny bone is always a good way of reaching out

world thru a prism

World thru a prism

Left to its faith a system proceeds towards disorder, a simple yet classic rule in physics

You tend to wonder if society at large shares the same faith and by that I do not mean actions following war or environmental damage, it’s basically the moral fiber that binds a rational, forward and liberal society.

A friend once mentioned that media is a reflection of the society we live in and if that were true then are we so blinded by the basic disorder within the system that we are constantly being subjected to news flashes about some kissing controversy or the upcoming wedding dates of Mrs. Rai., Rather than the daily happenings’ around us. Is media just representing and satisfying the sensibilities of society or did they miss the bus this time around.

Are we real ready to teach sex education in schools or do we like always hide behind the banner of culture.

To be honest I disagree that media is a representation of society, a representation of a section of society yes but not the whole, but then it just doesn’t add up, why the same stupid senseless soaps, the same family disputes and generation leaps, where did we go wrong-by we I meant people who share the same line of thought.

They say a vacuum needs filling is that the reason or is it some thing deeper like ignorance, division in society, sex, class divisions, race differences etc..

The answer is rather simple, it’s us not voicing our opinion loud enough and thus are conveniently left unaccounted `for with respect to everything ranging from condemnation of violence to corruption to practices that we may consider archaic.

Has our apathy cost us the loss of what they call the forth pillar of democracy.

That’s brings me to a more interesting piece of news that I happened to chance upon concerning Mohammad Afsal the terrorist convicted in the parliament attack case, while reading up on the case I came across something that stuck me like a sore thumb.

To begin with ill be honest am not really bothered about him being convicted regardless of the fact that the officer who was handling that case was held for bribery charges and that he had no legal counsel, but what was really disturbing was the judgment by the supreme court which said that “despite not finding him directly involved in the crime and accepting that he was not involved with the carrying out of the attack at least in terms of any direct evidence, but keeping in mind the nature of the crime and so as to satisfy the collective conscience of society he should be hanged”

Now am I the only one who finds this weird, all along I thought they needed hard evidence to nail you……..

Collective conscience is a very open ended term to me

Well in that case and in keeping with the fear psychosis the respective governments churn up to keep their electoral ballots ticking it could be justified that the war in Iraq or the extermination of Jews by the Nazis were all to satisfy the collective conscience of a part of society one way or the other isnt it……………………………..

a simple life

it is a fact that our genes have indeed divided much of our human race in terms of sex. colour, fitness, intelligence, looks and a host of such other feature and forced some of the most complicated decisions on us.questions that arise invariable due to advances in technology and knowledge, for ex- if we were to find the genetic cause of all disease ranging from diabetes to cancer to Alzheimer’s and to obesity and if we could fix the discrepancies and be a disease free world would be then truly start as equals.

the answer is no,
we would still be divided on the basis on economic standards and what would truly happen now is that the world would be further divided based on the rich choosing designer babies who per say would be tailor made to succeed in life and the poor well lets leave them outta the discussion for now.

but then the question with respect to designer babies is that who decides what normal or standard is.is being white better than being brown or black, is being tall something that guarantees instant success.

honestly colour and certain characteristics are based and adapted on the immediate surroundings we live in, so how does one choose a perfect baby.some say choosing designer babies is bad and against humanity, but to be honest we all somehow follow it, we all choose the schools children go to, the food they eat, the things they learn so truly what is so inhuman or bad about parents choosing a better life for the child by being say cancer free.

the complicated decision here is based on the fact that what then is truly considered good, where does this perfect life choice stops.is cancer bad, am sure we all agree it is and yes, its justified that a child if could, should be born without it, then what about diabetes and obesity – is diabetes bad, what about people who with diabetes still lead a healthy life,choosing against it would just be racist, as people do live a very satisfying life with diabetes.

however it does compromise an individual in someways, and if we target anything that makes a person less compatible so as to simplify our life, then what is the perfect height and weight is the question, that favours human survival.who says having a higher iq makes you more successful.

lets take this discussion a little deeperdisease testingthe common opinion that stems against it is based on the fact that it could lead to a bias during certain stages in life such as jobs, choosing a bride or groom based on the fact that we know the genetic basis of a person and chances of him having a disease or falling ill.

thus potential employers and suitors would choose people who have a more suited genetic makeup. so clearly that should not be mandatory as it would create a Major rift in society which would be much more powerful as compared to the caste and color based differences that exist today.

however if we apply the same scenario in terms of certain other jobs id have my doubts if it is indeed such a bad idea, let me explain, for example, a pilot flying a plane if more prone to a certain condition that could endanger the lives of the other passengers, would you not say that such testing would indeed be justified, now in the same way a person driving a car, working with explosives, leading expeditions all in someway would be a potential harm to others as they are responsible for the lives of people around them. thus we could justify the need for genetic testing to ascertain if a person has a chance of failing during such an event.

well as i said life does throw up some complicated questions at us, the solution is a personal choice i believe, which is what being an individual is all about.

stem cell banking

With advances in science and technology, today we find ourselves at new crossroads where at times we are faced with crucial decisions, that may some day give a us a new lease of life, stem cell banking is just another one of those crucial decisions that every person should be aware of.

So what exactly are these STEM CELLS
Stem cells are the master cells responsible for producing all the mature cells in our blood and immune system. Right from the white cells that fight infection, the red cells that carry oxygen, to the platelets that promote clotting.

‘Cord blood banking’ as the name suggests is the harvesting of these stem cells from the residual blood obtained from the umbilical cord following child birth. Research proves that this cord blood is a rich source of stem cells and by far the safest and the best. Once the child is delivered the cord is clamped and then by inserting a needle in the umbilical vein the blood from the cord is collected and preserved, this absolutely safe non invasive procedure takes just five minutes and does not in any way harm either the mother or the child.

More over with advances in stem cell research, there are promising results in terms of therapy with regard to diseases like Parkinson’s, Diabetes, Heart Attacks, Spinal Cord Injuries, Muscular Dystrophy, other then the 70 plus diseases including the Acute and Chronic Cancers, Anemia’s, Thalassemia’s and Immune system disorders that are a proven and well established cure today.

Further more these stem cells could also be seen as a security cover for the entire family as these cells have a 25% chance of matching a sibling and a good chance of matching both the parents since these cells share the same genetic tree.

Another interesting fact is that stem cell research is in no way a new field with stem cell treatment dating back to 1988 where the first treatment with stem cells was carried out, however with the kind of effort and research put into the field today it is evident that the world at large is moving from the primitive drug based therapy to the more natural cell based therapy model as this is absolutely safe and has far less adverse effects.

So from cardiac myopathy and ischemic heart disease to the diseases affecting the nervous system like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s they all fall under the scope of treatment with the help of STEM CELLS.

The next question being why store these stem cells when we have bone marrow?

To answer this question lets look at a few advantages of using or storing stem cells form the umbilical cord Research has shown that survival rates double when a person’s own cord blood or a family member’s cord blood is used, as compared to using an unrelated donor sample from a public stem cell bank. Also since cord blood is a non invasive procedure as compared to bone marrow that has to be aspirated from the person’s body it is much easier to obtain.

These cells also have a greater chance of being a match as compared to cells form the bone marrow as these are naïve and immunologically immature. More over the rate of rejection in transplants with stem cells obtained from the bone marrow are much higher.

These are just a few of the reasons why cord blood stem cell banking has taken such a forefront the world over.