Marketing Ganga

Author: Shabbir Chunawalla

  • Image Banks

    Indian advertising professionals have started relying heavily on image banks. Image banks are a collection of stock photographs and videos which are on offer, after research and study of the society and its changing patterns. Image banks act as barometers to the society’s changing attitudes and predict trends and needs. All this is captured on film. Image banks encourage photographers by throwing open a global gateway to them to showcase their work and receive royalty.

    The Hutch Pink puppy, the floating dias in the Deusche Bank ad are stock photographs taken from Getty Images, an international photography image bank. Getty has set up office in India, and is represented by Visage Media Services. Dell, Vipro, SBI have all used Getty images for their campaigns. Image banks are more than just still photos. The shot in Hindi film Rang De Basanti of the three MIGs flying over-head as the actors jump is a stock photograph altered for the film by adding the actors into the frame.

    Imagine you wanted Albert Einstein in your ad film or ad commercial. Where would you go shoot him? Go back in time? There is a simpler solution — visage image.com. They have clips of Eiffel Tower, the Buckingham Palace, the San Francisco Bridge, historical events, planets. One can take one’s pick. Another organization that supplies creative images with Indian faces is www.imagesbazar.com. It is set up by Sandeep Maheshwari. It has seven lac plus images in stock. The web-site is fully e-searchable and e-commerce website. The search takes less than two seconds. Another web-site ShotIndia.com has been launched by Sandeep in 2009. Here anybody can upload pictures, and when it is sold, the person receives 50 per cent of the amount. It has more than 3000 registered members who load thousands of images everyday. At present over 6,000 customers in more than 42 countries are using images from Images Bazaar.com and ShotIndia.com for advertising, marketing and publishing. Their all-India toll free number is 1800-11-6869.

  • Haute Couture

    Who in the world will wear clothes like that? Nobody does wear them anyway; because they are not clothes. These are a designer’s fantasy which expresses his vision of the world artistically. In other words, haute couture. We hear this word many a time to communicate high fashion. Its other connotations include the houses of fashion which are authorized to call them couturiers. These houses form the ‘Chambre Syndicate De La Haute Couture Pariesienne.’ A coutre line is an opportunity to show off the designer’s genius rather than an attempt to sell too many clothes. For all fashion houses, the big money lies in accessories and fragrances.

    How clothes of normal wear emerge from all this? Twice a year, each House of Fashion presents Haute Courure collection for spring/summer and Autmn/Winter at the Louvre. With Haute Couture line, the designer has already done a lot of ground work. He has developed the concept, the mood, the feel, the fabrics and so on. Now all he has to do is to turn fantasies into realities — give them a practical form.

    Boutique and Pret-A-Preter come into the picture to offer these controlled fantasies, which one can wear. At exclusive boutiques, we might be fitted by the designer himself/herself. The Pret-A-Preter, the ready-to-wear ones are available all over the world. Ready-to-wear lines draw inspiration from the couture. They, however, have their own identity.

  • Design Process for a Logo

    It is advisable to start designing a logo after choosing a brand name which drives the visual identity a great deal. Sometimes, both the naming and designing process are conducted simultaneously. The brand name together with its positioning contribute a great deal to the development of the design. Design brief is prepared spelling out the positioning, design objectives, technical parameters and creative slant. Three to four final solutions are arrived at so as to reflect the design brief and brand identity strategy. Each design should be tested in a context, say on letterheads or labels. Each design must be justified by explaining its rationale. One or two designs are shortlisted for further refinement. The trademark attorneys would be searching to avoid conflict with other registered designs. The design must be subjected to cultural analysis. A final selection is made. The design can be adapted for various applications. The use and implementation of design must be monitored against a set of design standards.

  • Shapes and Structures

    The Coke bottle, the Golden Arches, the muscle man, the cup of hands of LIC are s example of shapes and structures which support and distinguish a brand. These act as mnemonic devices. These can affect a brand either directly or indirectly. Architectural landmarks like Air India buildimg at NarimanPoint, Raja Bai Towers, World Trade Centre are associated with Mumbai and just as these landmarks distinguish a city,  registered logos distinguish products  –iMac is ‘ an easy to use ‘ igloo-shaped CPU and CD/DVD drive with a flexible arm supporting a flat screen.

  • Creativity and Big Data

    Big data ultimately means lots of information. Let it not seduce you to believe that by itself it will solve all your problems. You use this data and come at an original conclusion, or a new application or action from that data. Data catalyses creativity. Creativity transforms data into ideas. However, it is not a substitute for creativity. Big data is to be applied imaginatively. We have to yoke together the power of big data and ideas.

  • Cinema Advertising

    In the total advertising pie, cinema advertising accounts for 1 percent. It is showing signs of growth — a growth rate of 25 per cent year on year.As multiplexes mushroom all over, the industry has become more organised. It attracts the advertisers now. The chains of theatres and digital networks understand the  needs and wants of advertisers better. Even single screen theatres are getting digitised. Movies too are promoted heavily these days. It augurs well for the advertisers. The biggest hindrance to the spread of cinema advertising is the lack of credible measuring system. There should be a system of assessing the demographics and consumption patterns of the audience. It is a difficult proposition to capture the audience data in single screen theaters in smaller markets. Rentrak has appreared in the field to plug this gap. Cinema Audit and Monitoring ( CAM ) has been launched to track 200 most important screens in India. Rentrak and Interactive have collaborated in this measurement effort. Advertisers would like to have viewership profiles and the success of certain actors in particular geographies.

    Cinema halls can offer branding solutions — on screen advertising options and off-screen advertising options at the food counter, in the lobby, at parking etc. An auto company can show on-screen advertising supported by placement of vehicle in the lobby with test driving facilities for patrons in the parking lot.

  • Brand Revival

    There are many instances where a company phases out a brand. At times, this happens after the brands and/or the company is acquired by a new owner, e.g. Binaca or Dalda . Can a brand that is dormant be revived? Of course, it can be built on nostalgia, but that alone is not enough. It must be  contemporised. It is essential to listen to the customers and what they want or expect from the brand. A brand is improved in the light of this feedback. Volkswagen Beetle has been revived using this approach. Why the brand was dead? A company can study the reasons leading to its demise. Sometimes, a company uses the brand just to compete with the regional brands. Sometimes , the brand is killed to boost the prospects of the other brands. A new owner may not succeed in keeping the momentum going.  A dormant brand may have positive associations. Rather than starting from scratch, an old brand is good starting point. The market environment does require scanning for determining the prospects of revival. The brand can be strengthened further. Social media could be used strategically. Previous ad campaigns must be studied, and the present communication strategy must be devised. The brand must be given a certain level of marketing support.

  • Claymation

    It is also called table-top animation. Here people and objects are sculpted out of soft clay and put into motion,  one ‘frame’ or movement at a time. The clay figures are positioned to show movement, expression, metamorphosis, character and life-like similarities. Clay animation is a kind of stop motion animation wherein the artist does not draw physically to animate an object but clicks photographs of the object and places them in sequential manner and then plays them. In clay animation, models are created out of malleable substances like plasticine or any oil-based clay. The picture of this model is photographed and the position of the model is changed to click another photograph and this is continued. Usually, clay animation runs about 10 to 12 frames per second, instead of the usual 24 frames per second used in films. Clay animation has a unique texture and organic feel to it which cannot be achieved through computer generated animation. It has a certain tactile quality.

    it is also called stop-frame animation. The first step is to create a support framework ( alumimum wire skeleton ). It is then strengthened by using coloured clay ( plasticine ) for the body. Then each movement is shot to generate a film. It is a lengthy process because unlike 2-D and 3-D, models are sculpted out of plasticine-coloured clay. Then technicians change the position of the figure and shoot frame to frame. It is suitable to render humour in the script. It is also useful to show cute-looking characters or for idea exaggeration. Claymation also arrests attention. Here the message stands out. Claymation is close to Indian pupperty. Claymation can be used across product categories.

  • Colour

    Colours and shapes are the two things to which we respond immediately. Letters and numbers are to be processed by the mind . The order of visual elements for remembering them is colour and shapes first and letters and numbers later. We all are familiar with Pepsi’s blue, Coke’s red and Kodak’s yellow. Colour association acts as a mnemonic device. In the clutter of a multi-product environment at the retail outlet, colour facilitates easy selection. Colour scheme of retail outlets of gas stations does help drivers on highways. Colour also evokes positive qualities and attributes of a brand.

    Colours also affect us psychologically. They can be warm or cool . Colours are perceived in the cultural context. Our experience also affects our perception of colours. Yellow, orange and red are associated with the sun . Blue is associated with the skies and waters. Green is associated with the plants.

    Cool colours are remote from us whereas warm colours are closer to us. But vivid cool colours when juxtaposed with subtle warm colour do dominate . Colours also affect our perception of depth. Some colours arouse us too much, e.g. red whereas some don’t, e.g. blue and green. The brightness or darkness of colour alters the psychology of the message.

    Colours affect our physiology also, e.g. they affect our blood pressure, heart-beat and the senses.

     

  • Virtual Reality (VR)

    Another game changer technology that awaits you is virtual reality ( VR ). Digital communication moved seamlessly from plain text in words to video and visually rich content. Who would like to read when you can see it ? Since then,the world is moving to 3-D and 360-degree immersive content. It is a way to let you experience the thought and ideas. Why would you see it what you can experience it ? What is virtual real? It is so real that you begin to question reality itself. To begin with, VR technology was mainly associated with entertainment. Gaming has embraced VR. It is being extended to virtual property. It is making a mark in fields like travel, education and health care. Facebook has bought a VR hardware company Occulus to move ahead in this area.