Thank you for smoking

Good work from India.Don't know the name of the agency though. I smoke and I want to quit.

A story of hope and dream, an inspiration to us

The story of Anil. India is truly incredible in many ways. Here is just one of the billion stories. Planners often talk about empathy but they forget what is empathy made of. Enjoy.

Mumbai Golf - ESPN E:60 from Evolve IMG Films Ltd. on Vimeo.

Blue Star's cool thinking

Summer can be horribly hot and sweaty in India. Temperatures sore and so does heated debates and egos. Summer is a time when the AC brands in India also get active. They spend millions trying to persuade consumers to buy their AC's. But like most categories, the AC category, which is a sub-class of the White Goods category has its own conventions and cliches. You will notice that the moment you turn on your TV. Brands like LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Voltas, Onida are all fighting for market share with some really boring, unexciting propositions. Nothing much has changed over the years. The creative executions are even more pathetic.

The top three propositions are often:

1. Equal cooling at all corners of the house.

2. Anti-germ, anti-bacterial and clean air.

3. The most energy efficient AC for your home.

Cut to Blue Star. Blue Star, the AC brand has been the market leader in office cooling or air-conditioning solutions for commercial complexes. They created some memorable advertisements claiming their expertise in cooling solutions.

Blue Star recently ventured into the home cooling segment. And they brilliantly integrated their proposition of being an "cooling expert" from offices to home. Now that's the brilliance of good strategic thinking. When you're positioned as an expert, you build on that. You don't look for lame propositioning which leads to boring creative communication to persuade consumers. Blue Star found an excellent proposition that builds on their expertise at office and smoothly integrated that with the task at hand - home cooling. The result - Get office like cooling at home. Now thats refreshing. A nice execution helps you stand apart too.

Good work Blue Star. Look forward to some more refreshing creative work from you.

The Economist & why Ogilvy understands them better...

The latest TVC's (via Campaign India) of The Economist made by Ogilvy India is another example of Branded Content. Excellent music, great execution and clear simple message said in the most interesting manner. Ha. This is one agency that gets it right all the time. How?????

Let me see if I can simulate the Strategic Planning effort of the agency and how they are building brand Economist in India. And I can be horribly wrong, might even sound like crap... but what the ...

It is important to know however that somewhere in-between the game plan lies the glue - The the insight, the creative idea, flawless execution, tone of voice, reason to believe ...

Anyways.

The Game Plan (3 yrs plan): The Economist way to enter India

Step 1. Launch The Economist and create awareness - (Print/ press, Outdoor, OOH)

Step 2. Create awareness and generate more subscriptions - (Digital, Activation)

Step 3. Hold back and observe - (Data Analysis, Research Findings, Return on Involvement Measurement)

Step 4. Reach out to a larger audience - (Television, Cinema)

Step 5. Hold back and observe - (Data Analysis, Research & RoIM)

Step 6. Interact with Audience - (Digital, Activation & Events)

Step 7. Dominant Media Vehicle - (Debate Forums, Digital Forums, CRM)

Naah. Can't be so easy.

Anyways but I do believe the issue lies in the tissue.