Our Thought

It’s crazy but some have not yet realized that we are living in an era which will see arguably the most dramatic of all revolutions ‘The Communication Revolution’.

The select few in marketing communications are far more fortunate than we think. The opportunities that will present themselves to truly impact and shape our sphere of influence will be multiple fold.

In an attempt to be prescriptive in self-help style about an unfathomable communications future, lets start with the Digital Marketing’s 7 Deadly Tips.

1. Embrace The Past (Theory): Ironically, we are in a period of transition and past theories though evolving rapidly will hold us in good stead as most of the ‘traditional communications managers’ will be in office (read power) for a decade at the very least. This familiarity of a formatted past will help sell in the new and make you a very effective evangelist.

2. Digital Native (Watch and learn!): If you are a twenty-something reading this and have a smirk on your face please wipe it off. You are reaping the benefit of an earlier generations’ imagination. A man in his 50s created the iPhone and gave us the touch interface; bless his soul. The real adoption and cues for the future will come from eight year olds growing up with access to the latest technology. Those eight year olds will be in the workforce in little over a decade. I don’t think we would be asking the digital inclusion question at that time. The ‘in the boardroom’ manager still has a point when he refers to his kid as an example.

3. Visit India: Adoption of new technology does not have the barriers of old archaic software and devices that have set the system and defined the rules in the last decade. The West has clearly had a huge head start but the future will be in places that have the skills but not the infrastructure. It will be there that innovation is needed and the latest technology will be used to bridge the gap.

4. Daily Online Dose: Get digitally plugged. Digital marketeers are always happy to share their wares and pearls online. Make it routine just like taking your vitamins or exercising in the gym. If you have to interpret the present and predict the future for a living, get where it’s at. If you like the outdoor my friend, stream a few YouTube wildlife clips for a bit.

5. Contribute, Don’t Preach: There is a huge temptation and incentive to assume the role of Digital Marketing Grandmaster. The space is new and the black belts are still under production. The battleground is evolving so fast and so rapidly that a self-proclaimed master is dangerous as ‘finality’ to anything digital and should be considered as unreal. ‘Should not’ and ‘cannot’ are treated with the utmost caution or not used at all… if I had my way.

6. Create: The most abused word of the last decade in communications… in my humble opinion that is. Our time is now and we will do things never been done before. Creative is no longer a title given to a department to justify premiums. It belongs to us all. We all must believe we are creative and strive to push the envelope on creative digital marketing communications and content. It’s a white canvas at the moment.

7. Report: One of the most important digital tips is ‘report’. Spend a disproportionate time on getting your digital marketing campaign facts documented. We are learning and optimizing on the fly. Cases will only speed up adoption. A blessing for us all! Amen!

Any thoughts are welcome. Please share them with me.

The world of journalism is no longer an old boys’ club

Back from Hong Kong after attending the first News World Summit, organized by the Global Editors Network (GEN) www.news-worldsummit.org/ brimming with new ideas, thoughts and questions, I thought I’d share a few.

Who is a journalist today and what is journalism? Is a blogger a journalist? Is a journalist who blogs in his free time a blogger or a journalist? As I write this, am I a journalist? Who gets to decide on the answer to this very simple question?

One of the sessions focused on the subject of what makes for a good journalist. The answers thrown up from the discussion revolved around adherence to a set of values and reporting with a sense of responsibility are what is at the heart of journalism. (As opposed to the venting / ranting of any individual who now has the ability to publish his or her views through the Internet.)

If you really want to understand how the world of journalism has changed, spend a few minutes browsing through these two interesting examples of citizens turned journalists and the inspiring work they have done.

Safecast: “March 11th, 2011 – a 9.0 earthquake hits Japan, triggering a massively destructive tsunami and crippling the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. In the following days, as the discussion moved from confirming safety of friends and familyto ensuring their continued well being in part by getting geiger counters into their hands. Commercially available supplies dried up almost instantly and the discussion changed from buying to building. A plan to distribute the devices was developing… Safecast grew from purposed conversations among friends to a full time organization gradually over a period of time.

Today Safecast is a global sensor network for collecting and sharing radiation measurements to empower people with data about their environments, is how Safecast describes itself and its inception. To read more about this incredible journey do check out http://blog.safecast.org/about/

What I found most amazing was that Safecast had found a seat at the journalist’s table. This was no longer an old boys’ club.

Citizen Mojo: The second amazing example was from Australia, where Burum Media came up with the idea of providing indigenous people with the skills and technology to participate in the media landscape, by producing and publishing their own local stories on the web. http://www.youtube.com/user/howtomojo.

Through this citizen mojo programme the entire media ecosystem in that part of Australia have been infused with a new set of citizen journalists, equipped with the right training and technology tools to tell stories in a way that they have never been told before.

Keen to read your comments….

Hey, the much-awaited 2011 Asia-Pacific Corporate Social Media Study was released last week. The really encouraging finding was that 81 percent of companies listed on The Wall Street Journal’s Asia 200 Index now have a social media presence, up from 40 percent in 2010. To boot, 31 percent of companies now use at least three social media channels up from 3percent in 2010.

So how does India fare? While China, Thailand and Malaysia have shown tremendous growth over last year by way of social media properties set up by corporates, India too has seen an over 100% growth in channels now being used for corporate marketing and communications. India seems to score over majority in the region when it comes to active usage of properties. We seem to have relatively active social platforms and corporate blogs when compared to most other countries in the region. This in no way must be interpreted as engagement. We are still quite comfortable using traditional ‘push’ to disseminate our message.

The question now is, have we hit tipping point or will we need another year to get there? We in corporate India seem to be experimenting at the moment. It’s only a matter of time before the marketing dollars follow.

For a quick understanding of the emerging APAC corporate social media scene check out :

How much time does it take to set up a voice blog ? How much will it cost to create a video case study? What format should we shoot the video in so that it can be easily repurposed to share across different mediums? How much will it cost to webcast the event and how much bandwidth will me need ? Once we create the microsite where will we host it? These are the kind of questions confronting the PR professional in India today.

Ten years ago all one needed to have was a good media database and a strong network with a set of journalists. Add to that the ability to put together a press release without grammatical errors and organizational capability to pull together a press conference on a days notice and you were in business.

Client expectations from PR firms in India have radically changed. Today press releases are passé and press conferences have to be clutter breaking well orchestrated events with a significant announcement or else no one will be interested in attending. The media universe has exploded to include a host of new channels of information dissemination such as social media platforms and bloggers not to forget multiple geographies and time zones to be considered.

While I agree you cant be a master of all trades, the question confronting every PR professional in India today is “How do I is stay relevant?” If we don’t focus on upgrading our old skills, learning new ones and embracing change with open arms, we are likely to find both our arms and our legs cut off!!

Never have I learned so much on the subject of Communications as I have at the various ICCO (International Communication Consultants Organisation) Summits I have attended over the past 10 plus years. Leaders from big and small Public Relations firms from USA to Europe meet bi-annually to share ideas and experiences.

These leaders, impressive CEOs of the big global Public Relations firms mostly from North America (NA) and Western Europe (WE) – NA&WE – would present fabulous research-based ideas and thought leadership coupled with enviable experiences that would change the way Public Relations was rolling out. Asia was behind the curve; Asians sat in awe and wondered when the world would change for them.

Less than 15 years later, the latest ICCO Summit held in Sintra, Portugal, was dominated with discussions on Asia and specifically, China, India, Brazil and Russia. The growth charts clearly indicated that the time had come to look East.

Lord Chadlington/Huntsworth was adamant that the West had lost its brief and that Asia is where everyone should be. In my mind there is no doubt that there is a huge opportunity for NA&WE to reinvent their business by not only moving people to new markets, but also in looking at a new model of engagement and value addition in a difficult environment.

I tried convincing Brad Staples/APCO Worldwide that the challenges in India are so stark and real, it is a wonder that anything grows – and that too at about 8%. The litmus test failed. I could not convert his positive disposition regarding India’s challenges and opportunities. His presentation depicted that Asia is the future and All is Well – be it India, China, Brazil or Russia.

Lou Capozzi/MS&L has been a lasting professional, mentor and friend. When Genesis was an affiliate, Lou invited us to various learning sessions in interesting destinations, which upped our learning not only in Public Relations but also expanded our world views.

At one of Lou’s past learning sessions in Paris for leaders, we were divided into 4 teams of 6 each – to develop a strategy that focused on ‘Measurable Objective’. Sadly, till today, many firms do not have measureable objectives let alone what the metrics for the measurement be. That said, the biggest challenge for us was – we could not make a team of leaders! Each one wanted to lead – the American thought she should lead, the German didn’t agree, the French accent was difficult to understand and the Indian was of no consequence even though she had the broadcast experience with BBC and NGC as clients and could put the strategy together in 10 seconds!! By the end of it, no one was talking to anyone and we needed the ‘Inspiration Manager’ to intervene so that we could complete our task!! So Lou taught us a lot and continues to teach the world…at NYU, at ICCO and others.

It was a pleasure to meet and listen to Rob Flaherty/Ketchum. Great presentation, great articulation (why are the Americans so good at it?) and great content with examples that drive home the point of combining learning with campaigns and fine execution.

My long-time friend John Saunders/Fleishman-Hillard adds such practicality to his thoughts and ideas coupled with great relationships around the world – such an important element for Asia. Little wonder that he was awarded the ICCO ‘Hall of Fame’ award this year.

Paul Holmes/Holmes Report blasted the conference room with the state of the industry, what needs to be done – how and why, the opportunities and challenges and how they must be addressed. ICCO made an exception this year and awarded Paul with an ICCO ‘Hall of Fame’ Award for his contribution to the industry. Well deserved.

The presentations are being uploaded on www.iccopr.com, which must be studied, and the videos will be useful.

The question that begs a response is – Why are more Public Relations Associations from Asian countries not playing a more dynamic role in ICCO? Why are more Indian Public Relations professionals not participating in ICCO?

If we don’t participate, we don’t have the right to consider ourselves as an industry. It seems we have nothing more to learn…at a time when the industry is booming in Asia and there is so much to experience, learn and share.

The television is screaming about the economy going down the tube, corruption is the new style and if you want to be noticed ensure you are at stores like Emporio.

The potholes form a perfect road, electricity flows through when someone is kind, water is the world’s next war so just consume all you can now, madam is really upset at how much she has to pay for tomatoes, hubby thinks that the world is going nowhere so make the most of now.

Son calls all the way from USA to say “hang in there mom…it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.” Husband walks in minutes later saying “it’s time to go from one cruise to another so that that we can stay afloat and yet be switched off.”

Daughter is so excited about her brand new job, manages all the screens ever so comfortably, drops by at grandmother’s place to ensure all is well, kicks off her heels, showers for the nth time and charges out to catch friends at Striker, Umammi, wherever. Such great energy, clarity about everything she doesn’t want, updates Facebook diligently, calls brother and asks him ‘what she should wear for his wedding’, goes shopping, makes decisions every moment… while we young-at-heart drop into our lazy boys – watch the same news repeat itself, eat and sleep. Ahhhh, sleep!

A dog’s life is so easy these days. No choices to be made, no decision on which brand to support, no need to communicate with anyone, food is straight on the platter, they are shampooed and brushed religiously, smiles galore for everyone who visits, no screens to be watched, no tweets to impress people with, interests can go up or down, price of petrol hardly matters, Parle glucose biscuits will do. Who cares about the economy – every generation complains, everyone still has enough food and water, and these humans keep complaining – nonstop.

Shut down the screens, kill the brands, bring the prices down – reduce aspiration, give petrol free, and watch how boring the conversation will get. Even television host Simi Garewal in her latest reincarnation will find it difficult to put some coherent questions that someone can answer – huh?

“Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight…Bin Laden was unarmed…he was killed resisting, his son Hamza was killed…No, it was not Hamza, but Khalid who was killed“…continue different versions of what happened past midnight on May 1 in Pakistan’s Abbotabad town when U.S. Navy Seals flying in stealth helicopters surprised the world by killing the world’s most wanted man.

As online hits and eyeballs continued to generate huge numbers for the media, what stood out was the absence of a clear signal about the message U.S. wanted to send across the world. After it proved it had the military technology and the political strength to ambush Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by keeping the top military brass in Rawalpindi in the dark, and caring two hoots for national sovereignty, President Barack Obama’s administration seemed lost.

Different officials — identified and unidentified — started sharing their version of what happened that night. An absence of a clear line about the events and the refusal to share any photographic evidence of the dead Osama has only compounded the problems.

Polls conducted in several Middle East countries show how the message has been lost. A poll carried out in Pakistan, an ally without whom the US cannot carry on its Afghanistan campaign, showed similar startling results: Sixty-six per cent of those polled do not believe that bin Laden is dead! Cynics may question the credibility of such polls, but what this highlights is that it is essential to have a clearly identified message.

Whether it is selling a new car, a new brand of toothpaste or writing a press release for the media the message should be central. Clearly defined objectives when shared by different stakeholders with facts go a long way in putting across the right message to the right audience. Let’s not lose the facts and always ensure that everybody speaks from the same page to avoid confusion.

Much has been written and said about IQ and EQ. If the experts are to be believed, healthy doses of these two Q’s seem to be the need of the hour to get ahead in any situation …. However my humble submission, based on nothing other than my personal experience is that there is a far more important Q, one that wins hands down every time – the CQ or “Care Quotient”.

Five random reasons to back my case for CQ:
1. Most of us have over a hundred ‘friends’ with varying degrees of IQ and EQ on Facebook, but possibly not more than a dozen who care enough even to call and wish you on your birthday.

2. Most of us receive over a hundred emails a day from people with varying degrees of IQ and EQ. A few special ones among them take that little extra effort to share the key elements of the pdf attachment into the body copy of the email because they know you are travelling without your laptop and cared enough to make your day a little easier.

3. Think of the last time an unscheduled trip came up on short notice to any city where we have many old friends and ‘contacts ‘with varying degree of IQ and EQ. Its those special few who care enough that went out of their way to squeeze you into their busy calendar of appointments or made the effort to travel for an hour just to have a cup of coffee with you.

4. Think of the last time you travelled to another city and instead of sending the car and driver, or telling you which was the most efficient taxi service, someone who cared enough, met you at the airport at midnight, how did that make you feel?

5. Think of those stories that get recounted about brands and companies that handled an issue or a crisis really well. Be it dinner table stories or twitter tales of woe then wow. Its those corporations that through their actions demonstrated that they cared enough to acknowledge a mistake and then did something about it, that live on as brands we continue to patronise.

If you have experienced some or all of these things, then you will agree with my hypothesis – -Saying “I care for you” not in words, but through actions is about the best thing that you can do to get ahead in your professional or personal life. Its far more effective than just relying on your IQ or EQ and a lot more meaningful.

Do share any “CQ” moments that you may have had, would love to add to my random list …

I am not sure how King George VI, plagued by a stammer, would have fared today. He did find his voice after some strange experiments that were seen in the Oscar-winning King’s Speech to make his grand address and lead his country after his brother abdicated the throne. Those were the days of the radio. You heard leaders in your living rooms, never saw them live on high-definition television screens.

When it comes to communication, it is as much about the message today as it is about the messenger. A deluge of 24×7 television news channels have made it necessary that the right people go on air with the right message. More importantly, the messenger has to not only look good but also sound believable.

But switch on the television and most of the spokespeople seem unable to engage the viewer in their attempt to communicate the correct corporate or political line. Their effort to drown others in the overall din during long jaw-jaws just confuses the audience.

Corporate speak can be maddening at most times – a collation of big words strung together badly. Political speak is sometimes worse. Many political spokespeople fail badly at trying to explain issues and get to the bottom, further alienating the viewer; anchors butting in at wrong moments only worsen the situation.

There are very few regulars on Indian television who are able to decipher the issues and break them down simply, quite forgetting that the viewer has switched on the channel to understand something they already don’t. One-liners or smart comments don’t always make for good television especially if viewers fail to learn and, most importantly, believe. Others miss the trick by being verbose and, therefore, not very engaging.

This is where there is need for strong media training. People need to know what to say, when and how. It is also as important to know what not to say. As communicators, it is our business to train our clients well so that they are able to withstand the unique pressures of real-time, round-the-clock television. They ought to be taught not to fumble and mumble, but clearly and simply state their viewpoint. On television, smart faces only help if they know how to present a set of information candidly without flailing their hands and contorting their face. It’s not any longer about putting marbles in the mouth as the late King once had to get rid of his stammer, but about not losing them on screen!