In this competitive era, having a foothold in the market and making an impression on public has become one of the basic goals of any thriving business. The best way to reach out to the public is through media. Media in both forms, print and electronic, are used as the intermediate link between the producer firms and their prospective customer groups.

The advertisement columns of the local newspapers and magazines and the numerous television commercials, introduce the products and services of various companies to the public. Be it toothpastes, energy drinks, lingerie or insurance schemes, advertisements have become the means of communication today. Some ads are refreshing and rejuvenating, while some are hilarious with catchy pick-up lines and some extremely bold and obnoxious.

Watching one’s favourite hero or heroine endorsing a product automatically incorporates a sense of likeliness for it and so most of the companies hire these actor/actresses as “brand ambassadors” for their products. There are certain ads, which neither have your favourite stars nor the catchy pick up lines still somehow they manage to grab your attention and move your impression about the product.

One such recent advertisement which has instantly seized the attention of many is the Hero Moto Corp’s first ever ad “Hum mein hai hero”. The termination of a 26 years partnership between Hero and Honda in 2010 saw the birth of a new automobile giant Hero Moto Corp. Their debut ad is what has moved many a people. The ad depicts the face of an ideal Indian.

The numerous dreams and desires that one has right from their childhood.That one ambition around which the entire realm of their life revolves. The anticipation one faces when they are on the verge of fulfilling that dream and the reckless fear of failure that continuously pinches at the back of their mind. It is true for one and all of us.

However, it is our determination and the trust of our loved ones which proves to be the key to success. It gives us the much needed confidence, the final kick off to go ahead and achieve the ultimate. Thus the ad says, “Hum mein hai hero”, there is a hero within each of us. The ad portrays the various Indian faces, the girl, representing the nation in an international gymnastic event or the boy dancing, against the will of his father, to fulfil his dream of making it to a reality show or yet another little boy fearlessly challenging a group of army men for a cricket match.

Then there are the women, one pulling off the role of a pilot with full support from her husband and child and the other giving a scooty ride to her proud pillion rider husband. There are also the sturdy men overcoming their fear of a cliff jump or of riding past a hanging bridge. Last but not the least, the middle-aged sardarji, childishly competing with a bunch of school kids for a run to the top the stairs. All of them have one thing in common, their unabated spirit. This spirit can easily be related to the spirit of the nation. The feeling is further aroused by the soulful and vibrant background track sung by the majestic A.R. Rahman.

This advertisement hits the target audience in their heart, mind and soul. It proves to be a perfect endorsement of the products and relates them with the courage, reverence and spirit of the Indians.

Amrita Sarkar

Image Source [http://www.flickr.com/photos/lierne/4784846304/sizes/m/in/photostream/]

“Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action upon products, ideas, or services. It includes the name of a product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer, to persuade a target market to purchase or to consume that particular brand.” But today, advertising is legalized lying. Its function is to make the worst appear the best. Advertising is the key to promote and publicize commodities and brands.

The basic idea of an advertisement is to let the viewer analyze whether the product or commodity will be useful for a person or not. The ad has to directly make a positive and cognitive effect on its viewer. But the advertisements that are on air these days lack a solid concept. Many advertisements are so misleading, that in the end the audience wonders as to what was the utility of all the clippings that were shown. Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.

Today the deteriorating standards of advertising are directly affecting the younger audience creating a bad influence on the kids. The advertisers aren’t being able to segregate the time slots and decide as to who is their target audience. It’s all about generating revenue, whether Ads of contraceptives, sanitary napkins etc, are aired on T V channels for small children who firstly do not know what these are meant for, and secondly, they might get curious to know as to what are contraceptives and sanitary napkins all about.

It’s about the right advertising at the right place, for the right people, and not for merely advertising a product for massive economic profit. For instance, the advertisement of the mango beverage Slice, has been associated with Aamasutra (taken from kamasutra) and in no way has any correlation to sexuality. A simple drink has been linked with seductive gestures which are not needed at all, and especially because this product is consumed by all age groups, including children which might perceive it in a wrong way.

There have been instances where the wrong advertising policies and concepts of agencies have been put to objection by the courts too. The Pepsi commercial that showed a small boy selling and delivering drinks to people. This might seem amusing to the viewers or they may not react against it, but the fact is child labor was promoted through the ad and the Judge ordered to ban the TV commercial.

In India families watch Television together. Where many times advertisements lead to embarrassing situations and show stuff that cannot be watched in a family scenario with kids and adults together. Such as the chocolate man ad where women look at it in a sexual pleasure. And if an ad affects that, then that’s when the complaints start coming – because people are not comfortable watching it with their grandmother, son or granddaughter.

The point here is, to not make such ads that are conceptually and visually offensive. Ads of essentials like Lux Cozy and Amul Macho were banned by the government but were aired again and publicized undergarments as only a material aid for sexuality. So depleted is the standard of Indian advertisements. When an edible oil advertisement gives you the impression that you are free of heart problems so long as you are using that particular oil, then it is misrepresenting facts.

When an advertisement of a water purifier that filters only bacteria (and not viruses) claims that it gives 100 per cent safe water, then it is a false statement. When a mobile operator promises STD calls for 40 paise per minute, but omits to say that this rate is applicable only when calls are made to another Mobile of the same company so that it constitutes misrepresentation. Similarly, when an advertiser or a manufacturer makes a claim about a product, he should be able to prove it.

Or else it becomes a false statement. If he says that his refrigerator is the best or that it keeps the food inside germ-free, that claim should be backed by adequate scientific data that substantiates Misleading Advertisements and Consumers the claim. Or else, it becomes a false statement. . Similarly, if an advertisement for a detergent says that it can remove grease in just one wash- it should be able to do just that and the manufacturer should be able to prove this. Or else, it is an incorrect statement or a false advertisement.

In India, the number of complaints to the Advertising Standard Council of India never gives a true picture of the standards of advertising nor does it say anything about the level of consumer dissatisfaction. The reasons: low awareness level and apathy.

The Council along with the Ad agencies should pen down and practically implement clauses to set standards for Advertising products according to the age groups of its target audience and should be allotted with proper timelines and slots on air with correct censorship whenever required to stabilize its impact on people. Advertisements that do not cater to the lower age groups of children should be banned on TV channels like Pogo and CN.

Advertising should not only be about generating Revenue but also about generating it from the right audience and not by creating a bewildering impact on the people who shouldn’t be affected or are not the target audience of the commodity. In every genre of the media, newspaper, radio, television, the rules for standard advertising should be formulated.

Shefali Saxena

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Make up is to a woman as an ad is to a product. Having an excellent product no longer warrants its salability. Advertisements, though starting out humbly, have made huge leaps in the field of marketing and sales revenue.

They are no longer the poorer cousins of the myriad super shows on television. Ads today are much more than a pretty lady holding up the product, and flashing a flawless smile. They’ve gained monetary validity and have diversified beyond conventional territories.

They may be animated or real; funny or informative; long or short or just plainly, abundant. There is a lot of hard work involved in the making of an ad film; and sometimes, these ads provide for better entertainment than certain television shows.

The Advertisement

The Amara Raja group has consistently come up with great advertisements for Amaron batteries. From the clay animated hare and tortoise to the latest South Indian life saver commercial, all their ads have been widely appreciated. I would like to focus on the recent life saver ad that Ogilvy and Mather have created for Amaron batteries.

The product – Amaron car battery.
The message – The battery has a really long life.

The ad focuses on a delivery boy escaping near death situations when in possession of Amaron car battery. Once he delivers the battery, his luck runs out. Set in the scenic backwaters of Kerala, the ad manages to tap into the current Rajni fascination that has gripped the nation.

With lyrics like – “he rides like a breeze, through coconut trees”, the ad really concentrates on humour more than technical information. With a typical South Indian theme track, the ad works through the southern stylistic of cinema. The delivery person, impervious to falling cut-outs, hungry crocodiles or dropping coconuts, carries on with his mission.

The Impact

It has 32,000 views on YouTube and many shares on Facebook. This is one of those ads which have a high recall value. The message that the company wants to deliver is loud and clear – “Amaron nahi toh long life nahi”. There is no excessive indulgence in technical jargon and the viewer remembers one thing – Amaron batteries last long, really long.

Unlike the earlier Amaron ads, where the battery was featured only in the last shot, this ad shows the battery throughout the video. It doesn’t deal with the zinc carbon content in the battery but with amusing situations which, ultimately, help the brand.

Amaron has been brave enough to glamourize the otherwise boring battery industry. This will encourage other companies to approve entertaining storylines for its promotional ads.

The Evaluation

It is pretty obvious that this ad doesn’t want the audiences to ponder over the technical compatibility of the product. It wants to engage the viewer’s lighter side. A technical novice would most probably end up looking for an Amaron battery if given the choice.

This is one of those ads which make the customer wait for commercials. It doesn’t cater to a specific target audience but reaches out to everyone. An old grandmother, who knows nothing about car batteries, would memorize this ad. It is excellent in terms of brand visibility and hugely beneficial for the brand image. Even though it fails to point out specifications about the product; the main purpose of the ad is fulfilled. It is an entertaining ad which leaves behind a simple, straightforward message.

Anirudh Madhavan

Image Source [http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1280&bih=933&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=B5RivoNjEoX1zM:&imgrefurl=http://www.indiamart.com/liverbatteries/products.html&docid=EaQ8bH5VzuGcfM&imgurl=http://1.imimg.com/data/J/R/MY-63139/Bitmap_in_Graphic1_250x250.jpg&w=243&h=250&ei=YHieTsChB8PorQeBnMjMCQ&zoom=1]

The editorial vs advertising conundrum is pretty much irresolvable in a newspaper. While advertising dictates the money, editorials want space for opinion based on facts and news. Studying to be a journalist makes me partial to the editorial department. That’s where I will be soon. But that in no way takes away from the fact that there are some really good ad campaigns out there that have utilised the print medium like no other.

One ad campaign that has caught my attention is the Volkswagen print campaign. The German company has a tie-up with Times of India and together they have come up with a whole series of smart print advertisements. For a little while I managed to quell the outrage in me, because the sheer smartness of the ads blew me away.

The campaign ran various ads, one of which was the talking ad. When you opened the newspaper an advertisement started talking about Volkswagen as a brand. The ad was carried on the 21st of September and was for the Volkswagen Vento sedan.

It became the talk of the town since it was the first time anyone had ever attempted something of the sort. It was the first talking print ad in the world. The ad was in the Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Delhi and Chennai editions of the newspaper. Lutz Kothe, the head of marketing for Volkswagen India, credited his niece with the idea.

The ad spoke about the Vento and why one should buy it. It got annoying after a point because every time the newspaper was opened the ad started talking, but then again, you got used to it.

Another campaign run by the Volkswagen group was the car cutout. On Monday, 7th March, readers got their morning Times of India to find that a Volkswagen Polo was literally cutting through the pages of a separate edition of the paper. It was a cut out in the shape of the car and again set records for the sheer scale of the initiative.

The edition was called the Die Design and was printed at 5 centers. The cut out had to be clearly visible on the main page of the TOI. The campaign was inlike anything ever seen before anywhere in the world.
Volkswagen created a buzz yet again with its ‘Bleed Blue’ campaign which coincided luckily with India winning a historical match against Pakistan.

The campaign is to highlight the Volkswagen philosophy of creating better, fuel-efficient, environment-friendly vehicles. It involved the first page of the newspaper being completely blue.

Advertising is about creating an impression. It is about making people remember you. The Volkswagen campaigns have angered a lot of people for the fact that they disregard news importance and integrity, but to me they are path-breaking in their own right.

They are effective and have left a mark on readers. They cater to a high society niche audience and the way they advertise pitches the kind of product they offer.

Puritanism aside, the campaigns must be commended for their sheer brilliance and in your face attitude.

Ayesha Sruti Ahmed

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Advertisements are generally created for the promotion of products or services and various offers or schemes attached to them. These promotional short clips are basically projected for two reasons. Firstly, to make the product a commercial main stream hit and secondly, for endorsing the benefits that one could reap by possessing a certain product in comparison to another of the same category in the competitive market.

The present advertisement industry has evolved a lot to market the goods in such a fashion that it stands out to become the only product which can meet the needs of the consumers.

The advertisement industry is now employing advertising psychologists who have specialized in understanding the perspective of the consumers. People are appointed to study the recent growth in demands, trends including other factors like inflation and even weather to make an assertion regarding endorsement of a product, while psychologists look into consumers response to a certain product and finally chalk out plans for its sale.

It so happens when there are commercial breaks on television viewers flip channels, not being much impressed by the advertising styles or run on to finish some chore. I myself am one of these viewers but recently I found myself not only enjoying one particular ad but even singing along with the jingle. It was an advertisement for the toothpaste – close-up.

Later on I found out that the same ad has even bagged a few accolades. This advertisement was a milestone in the advertising sector. Prior to its release there had been quiet a few, based on jingles and were even successful but this particular ad received a lot of popularity and very efficiently promoted their product. Close-up began the period of scripting potent jingles.

The cast was a girl in her teens wearing a night suit, on her way to brush her teeth. As she touches her brush it comes alive and a friendly cartoon scope begins dancing on the jingle. Then it tells about the qualities of using close-up i.e. it removes plaques, prevents bacterial action, gives you sparkling white teeth and fresh breathe.

Firstly I had the impression that all toothpastes are alike but this advertisement had such an impact on my psyche that I became a regular close-up consumer. Now as a psychology student, I realize the difference in concept and the difference in analyzing and assessing the new consumer perspective that made close-up a product for one and all.

The rates were economical and the pack colorful with the paste having a starry-gauzy look which immediately caught a child viewers’ attention. The ad has been well outlined and scripted to perfection. It incorporates drama, humor and fun – the vital essence to call for viewer attention.

Kids generally abhor brushing but the ad successfully reached its targeted audience sector because as a teen I was so enchanted by the color, the brush’s’ activity and the lovely jingle that I begun brushing more than often.

In my opinion this ad was a classic in itself and has definitely increased the brands’ customer base and clientele. The ad set milestone for the advertisement sector which only very few of others have been able to do.

Cherry Agarwal

Image Source: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/jefharris/2548217327/sizes/m/in/photostream/]

An advertisement is an easier and comfortable mechanism of presenting an idea or concept, weather in pictorial or video or in print mode. In other words it is an introduction of services and goods to the consumers and public via electronic and print media.

It is basically a mode of generating awareness among the general public as well as popularizing various brands and products. The modus operandi of promoting and publicizing an advertisement is via newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, television, radio etc.
Consumer awareness ads which have flourished the market these days are very illuminating and enlightening.

It is one of the most apparent ways of braodcasting the ideas of consumer protection. It also helps in generating awareness among the general population regarding the flaws in the society as well as their rights as a consumer and how they are affected as a consumer.

The Tata Tea ads weather initially it was regarding the right to vote or the one’s now which about the corruption and bribery, makes a person aware that one should go out and vote as well as corruption and bribery is a sin and morally incorrect.

Apart from such ads the government has also taken initiatives to promote consumer awareness. The concept of ‘JAGO GRAHAK JAGO’ is one of the finest examples of advertisements, which help in making a consumer aware regarding his rights and also about the necessities of life.

Checking the expiry dates of medicines and food products, asking for a proper bill, discounts on MRP are the rights of an aware consumer.

The positivity of advertisements further accelerates down the path of creating consciousness and also makes a person aware about the social evils of the society. Killing the girl child or getting a girl married at a tender age of below 18 years are some of the examples of social evils present in our society.

Certain advertisements create awareness about the negative impacts of such actions as well as some help in promoting education and individuality.

All these advertisements are the best way to promote a cause as well they help in eradicating social evils of from the society. It is one of the right steps taken in the direction which leads towards and aware and developed society.

All these advertisements have been in a way very successful as they are a good attempt at fostering the awareness quotient. This means that they work towards evoking recognition and in turn making the general public aware about the positive effects of these advertisements.

They also help in developing consciousness in the society. However, how we implement the messages conveyed in these advertisements in our lives is entirely our perspective and choice. In other sense words one can take a horse to the water, to drink it or not… is the horse’s action. Similarly, accepting the meaning of these advertisements is one’s own prerogative.

In all we can say in the present times, maximum population prefers to watch television and with it comes these short and thought provoking advertisements. They give a sense of positivity to the ad world as well as generate awareness among the people.

However, the catch line here is an individual effort. The positive consequence of these advertisements will only occur when; despite the concept being grasped, the execution must be done.

Aarshi Dua

Through the years, the makers of most of our favourite soft drink Coca Cola have gained customer’s interest and most importantly revenues with the help of their ever so entertaining and impressive advertisements.

Whether it is the famous “Yaaran da tashan” by Aamir Khan some 4-5 years back or the newly launched Brrr campaign, we have always enjoyed watching all these ads and have been always influenced to join the Coke league. The Brrr advertisement showcases how a college student offers a bottle of coke to his friend sitting in a lecture and her professor catches the boy and drinks the coke instead.

And [D1] as soon as he gulps the first sip of the icy cold Coca Cola, he shows a ‘Brrr’ expression which suggests refreshment and contentment as if he had tasted a drop of the holy water of the Ganges. Though the ad is liked by one and all, it could not gather the expected response from the audiences in respect of sales unlike the earlier ads launched by the company.
The marketing team of the company worked upon the possible factors for the failure of the ad and thought that the possible reason could be the timing of the launch, because it was launched at the time of the World Cup and in a country like India, where people religiously follow Cricket, they expect Cricket everywhere which includes even the advertisements, which this one has surely missed upon and when its rival, Pepsi Co. came up with its new Change the Game campaign, Coca Cola lost more market share.

Now, Coke has launched a second Brrr advertisement which is better than the previous one and brings out the Brrr expression more interestingly. Though certain consumers have always been faithful to the brand and never shifted away from it, with the settling of the obstreperous uproar of the World Cup and so of the Change the Game campaign, the Brrr campaign is the one influencing people in large numbers. It is expected to bring an increase in the amount of sales and hence revenue of the company.

Since, today everybody wants to see something entertaining and soothing when they switch on to their television sets, an ad like this serves just the purpose. The “open happiness” slogan of the drink brings to life the idea of taking a pause from the routine affairs and enjoying some little nothings and sweet moments with one’s family and friends.

The company is also taking steps to promote their ad through various other media to reach a wide customer base which includes online promotion through various social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Even the content of the recently launched ad is such that a large number of consumers can relate to it and so will be tempted to buy the product.

And that is exactly what every manufacturer wishes the consumers to do. Hence in my opinion, every company should try and relate to the audience and to their needs to gather a large crowd for its product. Only then will they be able to hit a jackpot in a short span of time.

Aasita Gupta

Gretchen Scheiman talked about customer wants and behavior while talking about the average Joe (or Josephine). So, what would the consumers say to the marketers?

• I don’t want a relationship with you, nor do I want to figure out how to give you my permission on my time. Sell me something as well as you can.

• I expect emails relating to my purchases or searches and also some random items, in case of some eventuality. It’s your dime.

• When I am ready to buy, I’ll look through the emails and figure out if to delete or opt-out or hit ‘spam’ as per my convenience.

• If you decide to waste my time by waiting for me to raise my hand, I’d rather do business with someone else who has the guts. I gave you my email address and permission, or not, I don’t care.
Coming from a station so high, makes us all stop for a moment and take notice, and wonder even. There, to find with ease, is the sense in it all too. In the world of rush that we live in, who has the time to put in the effort to know, or the patience to find out, more about the companies we are in business with. Add to it the huge numbers of the
alternatives and competitors and we have the scenario of absolute impossibility.

There is also the factor of availability. When we, as customers, need the info, we know exactly where to look. Thus, when faced with the question, “How explicit does permission need to be?”, we fall in with the answer Gretchen gives.

The CMO survey commissioned by the American Marketing Association, August 10, 2009 had results that were not too surprising to the marketers, or the readers even. “Online marketing spending” topped the eMarketer’s list as the #1 area of growth for 2010.

The “2010 Content Marketing Spending Survey”, an annual survey on content marketing and custom content for marketing professionals in North America was conducted by Junta42, with over 250 marketing professionals from the leading small-to-large brands as participants. The results, summarized, showed for the third straight year that marketers planning to spend significantly more on their content marketing efforts in 2010.

59% of the marketing professionals surveyed planned to increase their spending on content initiatives. As a percentage of budget, marketers increased their content marketing spending 11% from the 2008 study, to 33% of the total marketing budget. Social media, such as Twitter, Facebook (other than blogs) topped the list of content products used as part of total marketing strategy at 72%, with newsletters and blogs coming in second at 63% each.

There are many other such surveys that can be found over the internet. All numbers point to the same picture, the same result. Marketing is growing, gaining more importance. And the primary growth can be found in online marketing. It is thus of great importance to understand what the fuss is all about, why is the need for so many discussions over so many forums and in so many groups of professional marketers, about permission.

Permission marketing is a term coined and popularized by Seth Godin, used in e-marketing specifically. In Seth’s own words, “Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them.”

On the opposite end of permission marketing stands the more traditional form of interruption marketing. In the present economic environment, many organizations desiring to use more effectively, email, tread lines crossing over into the regions of interruption marketing. It isn’t even like they can be held to blame. List maintenance and growth are critical with the constant attrition from churn, unsubscribes and complaints placing a downward pressure on lists and presenting challenges to the marketers to maintain program efficacy. All of this leads to the topic of email append, referred to more commonly as eAppend.

Email append is the result of old media marketing thinking clawing into the online world. In print direct marketing, there was no realistic way for the preferences of the users to find expression and thus was born a culture where permission was irrelevant. Personal data was bought and sold, the lists traded, purchased and appended with no concern for the recipients’ wishes.
In the present online word, there is absolutely no place for such thinking. Don’t we all have the world at our finger tips, a few keystrokes away. Google has changed the world. In this world where the users are empowered, what the users want, and don’t, is important. All arguments contrary to this statement of fact, are nothing but nonsense.

My sentiments, therefore, lie in parallel with Derek Harding’s when he sums his feeling about email append in just two words, “It sucks.”

So when Al Iverson talks about his opinion of Gretchen Scheiman’s piece, it captures and gathers the attention. “The implied advice given in the article is so far outside of best practices” he says and we know exactly where he stands. When he addresses Mickey Chandler’s blog, in which he talks of what his father, a real customer, thinks about it all, which basically sums up to his father saying, “get those bums out of my inbox!”, even as we burst into splits, the point comes across clear.

In an article written way back in 1998, William C Taylor talks about permission marketing. “The first rule of permission marketing is that it’s based on selfishness: Consumers will grant a company permission to communicate only if they know what’s in it for them. From the company’s perspective, if you send 100 people a letter and only 2 of them become customers, the cost of resending the letter over email is zero. If you want to change the behavior of customers, you have to talk to them over and over again.”

“The biggest problem with mass-marketing advertising” Godin says, “is that it fights for people’s attention by interrupting them. A 30 second spot interrupts a ‘Seinfeld’ episode. A telemarketing call interrupts a family dinner. A print ad interrupts the article. With no overflow of interruptions, this model is extremely effective. But there’s too much going on in our lives for us to enjoy being interrupted anymore.”

Even television networks have learnt and understood this well. No wonder, we have so many channels giving us movies with no breaks or one break express. Don’t we all enjoy the movie so much more this way.

Which of us haven’t received an unsolicited call in the night when everyone is asleep, or received an SMS when you were in a ceremony or mass simply because your number was in a list that the marketers bought. Many still work with pursuit marketing, stating in their defense that it works, only, you need to hassle LOTS of people. They are right in their own way. “If you send out 10,000 emails and get 1 sale, it still makes sense. After all, it costs us nothing.”

Now with easily available bulk mailing and bulk SMS providers, it has become all the more simple and reachable an option for the marketers. They need not even spend much to get the lists, with so many companies dedicated to gathering and creating these lists.

However, they overlook the 9,999 others who have just been pissed off because of the spamming. What about the damage to the brand, of being seen by the 9,999 as a spammer? Does the one sale outweigh the loss of 9,999 potential sales, since the 9,999 might never again purchase anything from them?

Many a marketers have lost customers for their companies simply due to their blindness to the damage caused by their actions aimed at short term results.

One of the biggest changes to the world with the advent of internet is the ubiquity of search. With the whole world in front of their eyes and the steering in their fingers, the users are omnipotent.

Go ahead and make what you want, as long as you stand behind it and don’t bother me. Sell bracelets or pottery or jet packs, it’s your decision, your responsibility. As long as you don’t bother me, I don’t care and as long as you are there, I can find you. The junk turns to spam when you show up at my doorstep and when you interrupt me.

As Seth Godin puts it, “The result of Google and prevalence of search means that people are far more forgiving of things that need to be sought out and less patient than ever with selfish marketers that insist on showing up in your face.”

So we finally arrive at the crucial question, what is permission?

Permission is asking explicitly, and in simple terms, the customers if they want to be mailed and getting in response a “Yes”. It constitutes an unchecked checkbox stating, check to receive our mail or asking explicitly to subscribe to receive the newsletters and not a checked checkbox stating uncheck to not receive mail or unsubscribe to not receive the newsletter, as is more preferred by marketers.

The concept was born in the mid 1990’s internet boom and its premise is simple, People who give permission to receive information are far more likely to respond than any other targeted demographic.

Permission introduces a new level of measurement into marketing as it enables tracking of the number and qualifications of people who opt in to receive information as well as the sales and other related activities generated by those people, giving a true measure of the quantitative as well as the qualitative measure of results.

Permission marketing requires a frame of mind more related to journalism and entertainment than marketing, because it requires the ability to engage the people to raise their hand and agree to receive information.

Based on an actual test of email newsletters sent by Selling Communications Inc. to a permission based audience versus a targeted list, 43% of the email newsletters sent with permission were viewed against 17% of the targeted lists.

These results come as no surprise, since people who ask for information are more likely to read the emails than those who never asked for them. Getting people to engage and read the mails doesn’t guarantee their purchase but that is the first step in targeting the most likely prospects.

Selling Communications Inc. defines 8 keys to permission, which are:

1. Strategy: What are the precise goals, objectives, plans and actions related to the permission strategy.

2. Technology: Technology should power a management dashboard displaying all of the key activities related to the permission strategy.

3. Getting Permission

4. Trust: People have to feel that their permission and privacy will be respected.

5. Media: Give people a choice to get the information they want via the media they desire.

6. Content: Don’t spam

7. A link to commerce: Target people most receptive to what is sold

8. Measurement

Another aspect to remember is the privacy policy. The purpose of the privacy policy is to inform the customers that while their personal information is asked for, it will not be shared or abused. It can include how the privacy will be protected (hardware and software), who is given access to the information, how to stop receiving mail, nature of mailing, which will be sent etc. The shorter the privacy policy, the more effective it is. Leave the long policies on the lines of legal papers for the legal department.

And if marketers are using email, then they also have to remember to abide by the guidelines of the CAN-SPAM act, a law that sets rules and requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have the marketers stop emailing them and spells out tough penalties for violations.

Below is a rundown of the CAN-SPAM’s main requirements:

1. Don’t use false or misleading header information

2. Don’t use deceptive subject lines

3. Identify message as an ad

4. Tell recipients the location of the company

5. Tell recipients how to opt out of future emails

6. Honor opt out requests promptly

The model has gained such popularity in the recent years that many a companies have sprouted, providing clients with permission marketing as products. One such company is Bronto, whose permission marketing promise states that their clients adhere to their permission marketing policy as part of their subscription agreement and also have an unsubscribe link prominently in their messages.

World Synergy is another such firm, which offers a complete suite of statistic tools to help log and monitor the activities of the permission marketing mails of their clients. Designing a permission marketing strategy is not as much a challenge now. As anyone with the slightest clue would have realized by now, the threats are strong and present as is evident from the data breach of Silverpop Systems in late 2010.

Silverpop systems, an email service provider that has over 105 customers had a data breach in late December. The FBI looking into theft of customer data belonging to McDonald’s had also investigated similar breaches that may have hit more than 100 other companies that used email services from Atlanta based Silverpop systems.

The threat remains, a challenge for all marketers opting for permission marketing. No one can assure 100% safety from all theft but they can guarantee that the information is valued. DeviantART, a website that boasts more than 16 million registered accounts, warned its users that their information was exposed to spammers due to a breach at the email provider, Silverpop systems. By announcing they would no longer be relying on the services of Silverpop systems, they showed their customers they cared for their safety.

As marketers, we can only hope nothing bad happens and when it does, we must do all we can to retain customer trust. It becomes all the more important in a model such as permission marketing.

“Once a niche business, now everybody’s doing it” a leading Internet periodical noted about permission marketing and it has also been incorporated in leading texts on marketing management, such as Kotler’s millennium edition.

Finally, as Seth describes it, “Permission is like dating. You don’t start by asking for the sale at first impression. You earn the right, over time, bit by bit.

Bharadwaj Battaram

Image Source: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanwalsh/4006230793/]

“Creative without strategy is called ‘art’. Creative with strategy is called advertising”, quote by Jef. I. Richards. Advertising is a part of the marketing process, and its job is to deliver messages that have a psychological effect on the consumer. Since the mainstream media is a part of almost any contemporary culture, people will take what they see or read in ads, and accept it subconsciously and it may get in their heads that way. The best way to send the message on their mind is to hit the sentiments of the costumers. In this reference I remember an advertisement of the news channel AAJ TAK based on eve teasing, some road side Romeos board a bus and teases a girl, an adult citizen warns them to check their actions. On this the guys replies rudely “UNCLE, HAATH FISAL GAYA, SORRY BOLA NA”, in reply the man slapped him and said “HAATH FISAL GAYA, SORRY”. The message of the advertisement was that the channel conveys everyone’s AWAAZ. This ad was enjoyed and liked mostly by women folk. Of course, they were not the target viewers, but since it touched their sentiments, they particularly enjoyed it.

Advertisements, which target social issue or issues like corruption, patriotism are most effective.  It can be that it triggers the feeling of patriotism for few seconds only but are very impressive. Like the advertisement of Tata tea, it conveys a message of fighting against corruption, with the slogan “JAAGO RE”. Focused on giving and taking bribes, the youth is targeted, since, youngsters are shown giving remarks like “YEH KHATE HAI, KYUNKI HUM KHILATE HAI”. It also conveys a message that if youth take steps against such actions then corruption can be removed completely.

Talking about psychological effect, the most commonly targeted group are young girls. Since, makers know the obsession of girls towards beauty and cosmetics, Cosmetics companies make ads which can touch their sentiments. Like in an advertisement of a beauty cream, an actress screams at her makeup man by saying, “AAPSE NAI HO RAHA HAI, AB AAP RETIRE HO JAEYE OR GHAR BAITH KAR APNE BIWI BACCHO KA MAKEUP KIJEYE”. This misbehavior was witnessed by the daughter of the makeup man. The girl’s eyes are filled with tears; in the next moment the product converts her into a beautiful actress, shown receiving the BEST ACTRESS AWARD with her father. And the actress shown in the beginning is shown again with an upset face. The ad maker here targeted to promote their beauty cream by showing love and compassion between a father and daughter. Recent ads released by Apple implied the novel technique to play with human emotions. The video calling feature of iphone-4 i.e. FACETIME, is introduced by those emotional moments that touch your heart and soul and definitely brings a smile to the viewer’s face.

In all the above discussed advertisements, we see the CREATIVITY and CLEVERNESS of the makers. An emotion is a very intense feeling, which often involves a physical as well as a mental response and implies outward expression or agitation. With the mastery to touch the weak points of the consumers, these makers hit their sentiments. Very cleverly they present their product; consumers don’t change the channel during commercial breaks if once they see their favorite advertisement is being telecast. And, here comes the success of the advertisement and its makers. An advertisement can be rewarded as a good advertisement if it is able to collect consumers for the product. All these commercials which are highly sentimental and really play on emotions are all about bringing good business for the product.

Kirti Singh

Image Source: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbweb/4686184036/]

Be it television, internet or any other source of media, the reel world is flooded with advertisements these days. “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie”, “ek idea jo badal de apki duniya”, “do the dew” are some famous one-liners heard from collegians. Somehow these ads influence us both professionally and personally.

The marketing medium has become the most successful grounds of income. It is undoubtedly the easiest to gather attention of the jamboree. The Cadbury chocolate, the self designed zoo zoos of Vodafone or a Pantene hair fall ad, all have in recent years gathered applause. I feel they are action inducing and compel the viewers to use the product. The tantalizing techniques used by the promoters’ hits the right nerve of the tele-viewer and helps sell the brand within minutes of telecasted advertisement.

The reason for huge success is the involvement of renowned personalities. Be it cricketers, bollywood Khans or topmost Bolly couples, they leave no stone unturned to accentuate a particular brand. They have started to make frequent appearances on small screen thus, becoming the part of a crowd. They are offered handsome price for a minute’s ad, often more than they get for a 3 hour’s movie. As a consequence, the whole panache has helped attain the support of a larger audience, benefitting both the advertisers and the patrons.

No individual can live bereft of this ostentatious ad world and the tele marketers know this well. Today, every household has a television and every television a minimum of 75-100 channels. So, even unwontedly viewers are served with advertisements after every 5 minute episodes, featuring stunts, gorgeous ladies and the Bollywood machos.

But in this hogwash (I said so because more than their publicity, these products promise nothing more. Whether it is a detergent or fair n lovely “cement” all are counterfeit and replica of one another.) What mesmerizes me the most is advertisement of “Incredible India”.

I am not a crazy Amir Khan fan but what he portrays in such ads is admirable. Ceasing few anti-social elements from mistreating foreigners or raising voice against pick- pocketers, is what I feel provides the true message. In some other snap shots, the Indian culture is beautifully glorified. A row of ladies holding matkas or deep down the remote village, giggling children are worth praise.

I feel “Atulya Bharat” in an immaculate sense teaches the citizens to respect and beckon our foreign counterparts. It elevates the Indian morals and provides a pathway to be followed and not to forget the basic values of “Atithi Devo Bhava”.

The autorickshawallas or street vendors take it as a yard stick to move in the right direction. They are self mentored by such ads. Based on above ads, a movement to teach the daily wage earners, Basic English has been started. It not only enhances their language and etiquettes but also improves their abysmal standards of living, thus, attracting tourists.

The Amir Khan ad I feel incorporates within every individual the fear of law, rules and regulations which if violated can put them behind bars.

As I stated above, millions have an access to television today and whatever is telecasted on reel, they tend to imitate on real life too. So, such advertisements are a boon and accelerate “tourism” in correct perspective. If we ponder further then it helps in increment of foreign exchange and thus, boosts up the national income. And with flying high tourism comes the responsibility to maintain a picturesque country and appreciable security, ultimately benefitting the country inmates.

So the business of marketing affects the way we talk, walk and think and what could substantiate it better than an Incredible India or Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan ad? They offer lucrative gifts and percent offs on items to promote a cause thereby, catching the eye balls and pushing people to contribute for a reason.

Now, before placing a “fullstop” to my article, tele-marketers are definitely using their wits in duping people and earning a profit. But the present day audience is smarter, more intelligent and selective. So, it might take their extra sweat to deceive people.

Whatever, “lage raho”. I like junior Bacchan can only say “what an Idea sir ji?”.

Abha Goel

Image Source: [http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Dro_oER2iDU/0.jpg]