Lost in transactions

It is that time of the year, when all the conversations are about slots, packages, profiles and locations. You keep hearing terms like PPT, JD, CTC, LPA etc. This is the time that students across the country go to B-schools for. All their effort, right from the time they started preparing for their battery of entrance exams till they gave the last of their submissions in college, boils down to this. Or so they believe.

Yes, the first job out of a B-school is extremely important. This is the first step of your new and hopefully successful management career and you do not want to get it wrong. But, what is right? I understand that this is a totally subjective question and cannot and will not be the same for everyone. But you can generalise at some point, can't you? Generally, people worry about package quite a bit; quite a bit more than they are supposed to. This is usually the priority for a lot of people, and I don't agree with that.

I have always believed, that if you do what you want to do, do what you would love doing and do what you see yourself doing forever, money will never be lacking. I might sound philosophical, but I do believe that you loving what you do is important. The logic is, if you love whatever you are doing, you will be best at doing that, and no one can not pay the best. This logic is believe has been lost in the cacophony of transactions.

I know I could have done a better job at writing this down. But maybe I am not really loving it that much at present.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

How to stay young

I am not into telling people what to do with their life on my blog. It is usually about stuff that I think about, or stuff that I see and make me think. Things that I presume should be shared and people would enjoy reading.

But, here are 10 things you should keep in mind to stay young. I got this in an email and agreed with most of what it says. I think everyone should read it and think about it.

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them'
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle
4. Enjoy the simple things
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity

 

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

World's Most Profitable Companies

via reflectionof.me

This is what I call an awesome graphic!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Where do you sit in class?

via myconfinedspace.com

So, where do you sit in class?

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Creative ads on stairs

I have often posted about creative advertisements from across the internet. Here is one more. This time they are showing off their creativity on stairs!

My favorite is the Jeep ad.

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Which is the ideal position to use a laptop?

Chances are, if you are a laptop user, you have at some point or the other wondered which position is the most ideal to use your laptop in.

Well, the picture below is arrived at after some research by some scientists from somewhere, after testing some people. The thing is though, it does not really take into account the heat generated by the laptop which can be quite a lot after some time.  And also, most of these positions are comfortable only when you have a relatively light weight laptop.

So be careful the next time you are using your laptop. :)

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

The Facts About Bottled Water

via blog.achint.net

Hat tip, Achint Parekh

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Why Men should not write Advice Columns

via bspcn.com

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Typographical ads

Out of all the media that brands use to advertise, I always had a soft corner for the print medium. It just requires more brilliance and lateral thinking to grab and then hold the reader's attention long enough to get across a message in one page. Also, it gives the reader their own time to connect with the ad in the way they want to or dont want to. And this creates a much bigger impact than a television ad.

Traditionally, print ads have been about the headline, the sub-headline and the body copy, with a picture in it. But, the ads that grab attention fastest are the ones with bold typography. Once, you have the attention, it is the job of the creative to hold and get the message across.

Below are a few ads which have done this brilliantly. You really should see all of these awesome typographical ads.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Everything is Amazing & still Nobody is Happy

via youtube.com

This is one of the funniest videos I have seen in a loooong time!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

World Cup Draw

So finally the draw for the Fifa World Cup 2010 in South Africa has been declared. It was quite a ceremony hosted by the South African Charlize Theron.

The draw is quite exciting and I must say that most of the groups are unpredictable with this being a home tournament for the African teams.

Group G is going to be the 'Group of Death' this time around, with Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and the unknown North Korea.

France meanwhile would be feeling quite lucky to have been drafted in Group A!

I am looking for my favorites Spain and defending champions Italy who have got relatively easy groups.

So onto June 2010!

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

World Cup Draw

So finally the draw for the Fifa World Cup 2010 in South Africa has been declared. It was quite a ceremony hosted by the South African Charlize Theron.

The draw is quite exciting and I must say that most of the groups are unpredictable with this being a home tournament for the African teams.

Group G is going to be the 'Group of Death' this time around, with Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and the unknown North Korea.

France meanwhile would be feeling quite lucky to have been drafted in Group A!

I am looking for my favorites Spain and defending champions Italy who have got relatively easy groups.

So onto June 2010!

Posted via email from Real Madrid

Talking of ambient advertising

Got these pictures in a mail from my friend Shrenik.

This is one of THE most creative campaigns I have seen. I dont think one needs to say much beyond that.

Enjoy!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

The Boy Paradox

via reflectionof.me

This is quite funny actually :)

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

The Changing Face of the World Economy

via gregmankiw.blogspot.com

I like this economist a lot :)

Greg Mankiw I mean.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

What are the chances?

via youtube.com

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Thums Up ad

via afaqs.com

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

New Fevicol ad

via youtube.com

This is the new Fevicol ad made by O&M to celebrate 50 years of Fevicol, actually Pidilite.

They actually started off the campaign by putting up hoardings and print ads about the world's shortest feature film titled 'Moochwali'. The 'movie' premiered on multiple GECs simultaneously.

I once posted an ad I had made for a project of mine, which focused on the need for increase in the branding of Pidilite rather than Fevicol. And it seems they are doing something on those lines.

Good one I say.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

You walk on...

You try to walk, you stumble, you balance, you stand, you walk, you slow down, you spot, you like, you jog, you run, you pant, you struggle, you slow down, you stop, you try to reach, you reach out, you tip over, you fall, you grunt, you get up, you dust, you wake up, you look, you watch, you walk on...

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Our deepest fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Placements anyone?

Comic: Wizard of Id

Source: Comics.com

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Capitalism anyone?

Calvin at his best!

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Absolut hacker

via reflectionof.me

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Indian sports broadcasters need a lesson in strategy perhaps?

When I was 14 years old, I had a pretty tough time dealing with academics. One of the subjects I was a little better at was Math and even in that I pretty much sucked at most of the chapters. So, I decided to practice like hell what I knew best and hope that the most of the questions in the exam were from those chapters. This was when my teacher told me, don't put all your eggs in one basket!

I don't think the smart alecs at ESPN-Star Sports (ESS) had a teacher like that. 'Why?' you ask. Because they decided that if they have xxx million dollars, the best thing to do, is to put all of these xxx million in one stupid little wicker basket called cricket. Oh! I forgot they have one of their xxx eggs in the EPL!

The point is, in the fight against SET, Ten/Zee and Neo, they are trying their best to get the biggest television rights away from the others. So they bid a whopping $975 million for a ten year broadcast rights deal for the Airtle Champions League (ACL). What happened? It Bombed! Advertisers are asking their money back, agencies are saying they will not advertise in the ACL again and all of them want some compensation or the other! This is fine I guess in the short term for a giant like ESS. One might say that they have the next ten years to earn this money back. But what if it flops again? The IPL is with SET, cricket in India is with Neo and most of the other places locked up by Ten. ESS does have the ICC events till the next world cup but is that enough? Maybe they bit off more than they can chew.

The best thing they could have done in this case was move to other sports apart from cricket. Football comes to mind and one might say that they do have the costliest league - EPL. But again, is one event enough? They could have wrapped up the relatively cheaper La Liga as well, but they let it go off their hands. All they had to invest in was the broadcast rights and Sky gives them the rest (presenters, commentary and all). They have the sheer cheek to call them the home of football and start a campaign called 'I Love this Game'! They say all that with one league? Neo has more football on TV than ESS! Ten even shows Barca TV and ManU TV apart from the UEFA Champions League!

The problem is, none of the sports broadcasters in India are focussed on what THEY want to do. They think they have figured out the Indian consumer better than HUL and everything they dish out is what we want to see! Well, as if we have a choice!

I think the Indian audience is mature enough for a 'Complete' sports broadcasting channel. And the sorry part is, as of today, even if ALL of these channels are combined, we still don't have most of the quality sports from around the world.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Keep Walking...

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours.

- Ayn Rand

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Marketing the Porsche Panamera

So what if you are one of the iconic brands of all time having produced products that have become objects of craving and all of a sudden you make something that seems quite hard to sell.

Now imagine this brand to be Porsche. Yup, even they can come out with a stinker of a car which is not exactly a dream to sell. The car I am talking about is the Porsche Panamera. It is by far the ugliest looking sports car I have ever seen! And it will take a considerable amount of booze for any designer to beat that in the ugly scale in the future.

So what does Porsche do? They turn to the marketing department and plead! The marketing department then try to figure out a way to make people feel that the Panamera IS actually a Porsche and it has been made the way it is, for a reason. So in comes its positioning as the first thoroughbred four-seater sports car.

The next step is to drill this positioning statement - Four, uncompromised - into the customer's head. And for this purpose, they have come out with an absolutely brilliant creative!

What do you have as your resource if you are Porsche? What will convince the customer about this being a Porsche? Maybe showing a FEW of the older path-breaking Porshces will do the trick? Just to be on the safer side, lets say, we show ALL of the 50 Porsche models ever made - together! Sounds great!

So off they went and gathered around every Porsche they could find and made something like a teaser first.

So it sounds and looks quite exciting, the prospect of seeing the finished product. Before you go ahead and see the finished ad below, I want you to think about the problem Porsche is facing marketing this ugly car again. You know they are serious when they are putting the weight and reputation of no less than 50 cars behind just one new car. They are pretty desperate!

The concept of the family tree is quite brilliant and so is the execution. However they could have done without the gimmicky CG animation. At times the ad looks like a computer game. But overall a good strategy to market what seems like an adopted child as one of their own.

Tell me what you think!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Red Bull did what Mallya should have

via youtube.com

Right from the launch of Force India F1 at the Gateway of India, I was expecting Mallya to get one of their cars to India and show it in action here. This expectation increased after the Bandra Worli Sea Link was built. Not only would this have been a tremendous PR exercise for Force India before the Indian GP in 2011, but he could have painted the town in the colours of Kingfisher!

But Red Bull took the first step and a huge advantage by showcasing their might in F1. A good year for them with Vettel doing very well in the Championship and they chose the right moment.

Come on Dr. Mallya, you are shrewder than this! Now you can maybe get one of the cricketers from your team to drive your car to get one up on Red Bull :P

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Make a decision

It doesn't have to be a wise decision or a perfect one. Just make one.

In fact, make several. Make more decisions could be your three word mantra.

No decision is a decision as well, the decision not to decide. Not deciding is usually the wrong decision. If you are the go-to person, the one who can decide, you'll make more of a difference. It doesn't matter so much that you're right, it matters that you decided.

Of course it's risky and painful. That's why it's a rare and valuable skill.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Perfectly well said!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Nostalgia 2009

Here are some pictures from our Annual Alumni Meet - Nostalgia.

I am posting only a few pictures which include my PCom buddies and other friends. It was damn good fun with all the decoration and everything!

This is one event where we stay up all night before the event to deck up the whole college. And the next day deck ourselves up in suits to face the alumni.

Didn't take a wink in more than 40 hours! Dead tired by the end, but totally worth it considering the last year in college.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Careers in Marketing

Following is a general and broad list of careers one can have in the field of Marketing. (Courtesy Prof. Ramki who is an MMS marketing faculty in SIMSR and BMS marketing faculty in colleges like Jai Hind, HR, etc.)

For obvious reasons, I would refrain from putting anything in detail and just put the list here. For more details, you can try and contact him as he provides guidance in this field.

So here goes:

1. Sales
2. Distribution
3. MR
4. Advertising
5. Brand Management
6. Retail
7. Logistics & Supply Chain
8. CRM
9. FMCG
10. Consumer Durables
11. B2B
12. Banking & Insurance
13. Airlines
14. Hotel
15. Travel & Tourism
16. Telecom
17. PR
18. Event Management
19. Media Management
20. Data Analytics
21. Marketing Consultancy
22. Entertainment
23. Marketing Finance

There is a lot more to it than this list of course. Details like the type of jobs and skills required.

So, hope this helps you in some way.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

A brilliantly well made ad from UK

via youtube.com

The quality of film making in this one is mind-blowing. Even though the concept is a brilliant one, it still had to be executed well. And you will not get execution better than this ever!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Beautifully Imperfect

via random.aviraj.com

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

An ad I made

Download now or watch on posterous

Fevicol_0001.wmv (9967 KB)

This is an ad I made for my IMC project. Please try and give feedback on it.

They are all my classmates so probably they can relate to it better.

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Ferrari 458 Italia

via youtube.com

Love how mean it looks! The rear is not the best but still good looking. Personally, don't really like the LEDs on the headlights.

And LOVE the exhaust note! Thunderous!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

My blogging trend

So you might think it is a real loser thing to do. But I have made a graph of my blogging trend and above are the results. Started early, did not do much in between and now doing more than ever before.

A notable increase in May and June this year thanks to my summer project. And that I guess has continued till now. Hope to blog more.

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

No La Liga broadcast in India!

This is absolutely pathetic!

It seems ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has decided to not renew their contract to broadcast La Liga in Asia. They have to pay USD 1 million per year for these rights as opposed to 13.5 million for 3 years for the EPL - this contract expires in 2010. This is the same way they lost the rights to the UEFA Champions League and Cup broadcast to Ten Sports - this also costs 1 million per year.

Their argument is they have enough cricket and EPL in their calendar and not many people would want to watch football at midnight (which is when La Liga is played - IST). Are you kidding me? Just this year when I though there will be more Liga matches on TV thanks to Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema, Zlatan and more gong to Spain, they decide to take the plug out completely! Not to mention the number of Ronaldo fans who would now want to watch Real Madrid games!

I have no hopes from Ten Sports giving more weightage to Spanish match in the Champions League as well now. To add to all this, it seems no other channel is interested in picking up the rights for La Liga as well.

It is a sad year for football! Atleast for me...

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

All set up for another brilliant race

An excellent qualifying session ended with Hamilton on pole followed by Sutil. Sutil had a brilliant Q3 but was let down by a small wobble at Lesmo resulting Hamilton beating him by 0.2 seconds. The Ferrari of Kimi was behind them on row 2. So the Force India IS better than the Ferrari :)

On the two drivers on new cars, Liuzzi managed an impressive 7th place but Fisi could only get 14.

Here is how they all line up for tomorrow:

1. Hamilton (KERS)
2. Sutil
3. Kimi (KERS)
4. Heikki (KERS)
5. Rubens
6. Button
7. Liuzzi
8. Alonso (KERS)
9. Vettel
10. Webber
11. Trulli
12. Grosjean (KERS)
13. Kubica
14. Fisichella
15. Heidfeld
16. Glock
17. Nakajima
18. Rosberg
19. Beumi
20. Algesuari

An exciting race ahead with the KERS powered cars predicted to gain 15 metres right at the start. Sutil better watch out!

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Final Practice - Sutil First, Fisichella Last

The final practice of the Italian GP has brought about an amazing irony. Fisichella who left Force India to join the team that beat him to the finish line in Belgium is now last. And the team he left is still first.

Adrian Sutil has just set the fastest time in the final practice session followed by a late bloomer Jenson Button who managed to up his pace only in the last ten minutes. Fisichella was dead last but to be fair, he had also crashed out in the middle of the session. By comparison, Kimi was 12th fastest. However, not yet sure if the KERS powered cars did use KERS properly in the practice sessions.

Well, the Ferraris seem out of pace, but the Brawns are trying to fight back.

We shall see in less than two hours when the Qualifying session for the Italian GP starts off.

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

PCom bail-out

One should always have a 'bail-out place' wherever you go regularly. What I mean by this is an area where you can run away from other things and people and just be within yourself. This place is normally one's room in the house or the bathroom for some people, the canteen in college for someone or the cafeteria at work. These places completely bail you out of your misery.

Not that I am suffering from any misery, but I would now come to my place of bail out in college. This is the Placement Committee room or the PCom room as it is known. It is nothing but an average sized room with 6 computers against the walls and a table and chair at one corner which leaves quite a bit of space in the middle. It also has lots of shelves and of course, a couple of phones. This room is just an ordinary room without an AC but two huge windows spanning the breadth of a wall. There are no ceiling fans as ceiling is not high enough and so we have to make do with a few standing fans. Oh, and the best part, it exists between the less visited third floor and the never visited fourth floor, making it completely isolated.

This room is in no way comfortable - it has really old chairs. It is in no way greatly equipped - we have to go all the way to the ground floor to get water. But still, there is something that makes me feel at ease. I usually forget about anything outside the room, classes, projects et al. There is no pressure on me when I am there, no one is telling me what to do, a room where we are all equals. I don't go to the room to wile away my time, to get away from lectures or projects. But I do feel cocooned once I am there. I feel like being on my toes in there, not wanting to rest, making things happen.

It is not a typical bail-out place for me, but I do feel as if I am bailed out once I am there.

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Internet Distractions, In Order of Importance - ReflectionOf.Me

via reflectionof.me

So what do you do on the internet?

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

What does a 'team player' mean?

I have seen this word in a lot of resumes. And being in the Placement Committee, I have seen more than my share of resumes.

Every person mentions this quality as his strength. Strength is supposed to be something unique that others might not possess, otherwise it is not something worth talking about. However, how many of the people who include actually have it? And what do they think it means?

No doubt that this is a typical management jargon. However, it has been often used in fields as varied as sports and some other varied field I cannot think of right now. Moving on, the thing about jargons are, they are often open to interpretations. And with a jargon which has two words, you can never be sure. For example, anyone who plays in a team can be called a team player. Try and argue with that! But it is not that simple now is it.

According to me, a team player is someone who think about the team that he plays for when he is playing in that team. For example, I am in my class football team, volleyball team, some project team, the placement team and I guess you get the drift. All these teams perform and behave differently and have their own micro-culture and their own unwritten rules. This comes with the fact that the players in each team are different from the others. But, I need to differentiate my efficacy and draw a line between each team. And finally if at some time I am not performing for any of these teams, I should be the individual I actually am so that I can adapt myself to the next team.

While writing this post, I am not in any particular team, and hence I can write without any of my teams affecting the way I am writing it. None of my experiences in any team is influencing me in any way while I type this down. But, all of the experiences will influence me as an individual that I am. Go ahead, join more teams. Become a team player in each of them so that you become a better you.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Fisichella to Ferrari

In a move that was expected to take place for more than a week now, GF has finally moved to Ferrari for the rest of the 2009 season. He will replace Luca Badoer who had one of the most disappointing stint in F1 ever.

GF thanked Force India boss Dr. Vijay Mallya for letting him go and allowing him to drive for Ferrari for the rest of the season. Mallya said he had made the decision to release his driver for the good of Fisichella and of Formula One racing, and not in exchange for any financial settlement. He also hinted that the 36-year-old’s Ferrari deal extends beyond 2009, suggesting a possible testing role for the Roman next season. Wow Dr. Mallya! Very generous indeed. He added that a competitive Italian driver in a Ferrari for Monza is a positive story for Formula One, which can only help raise the sport's profile in these difficult times.

If only everyone was this altruistic and level headed! But this is a masterstroke by the Indian boss. There was nothing that anyone could do to stop GF from moving to Ferrari and the smartest thing to do was the make the most of the situation. For sure GF has helped Force India in more ways than we can imagine. But for this exact reason it would be so hard to part ways with him and see him in a rival car. The best thing he did was to not charge any settlement fee.

Force India is truly Indian!

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

An incredible urge

I presently have this incredible urge to write something. I don't know what to, but I have to!

The cause of this urge are two people, my fellow Placement Committee members from the 2011 batch and also fellow bloggers. One is Rachana and the other is Vikash (yes it is spelt that way). They not only liked my blog and what I have written but discussed a few things about blogging and it has now got me going.

What I like about both their blogs at first are the names. I could never think of a cool name for my blog. Mine has always been adityakandala or some other format of my name. But AngelicHuman and DelusionsOfPetrification are two really cool names. I don't even know what the second one means. Vikash you owe me an explanation. They both write differently, Rachana is more of a formatted serious kind of writer who might not write unless she doesnt have anything concrete to write about, quite similar to me. Vikash doesnt really care about formatting and just goes with his thoughts, I like this. Vikash is also into poetry by the way.

I am not some experienced blogger or writer to comment on their writing and will not do that. This was just an attempt at writing something random without having any particular topic in mind. Done.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Race of the season

So I finally manage to post about something that the whole world knows and is talking about.

It was a great weekend at the best race track in tha calendar and the result was more in my favor than I could ask for. Not only did Kimi win the race in the Ferrari, but Fisichella in his Force India managed a second place without much sweat. In fact he was good for the win too if Kimi didnt have the KERS to keep him ahead.

I dont want to say much about the race and the result. Everyone already knows about it and has read reams of newsprint regarding it. All I want to say is: Thank You Dr. Mallya!

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

More about ads

It has been quite a while since I updated this blog of mine. But I have been a little busy with college activities, especially involving placements.

Anyways, I had one more though regarding ads and I though it is good enough to put it up here.

I had posted once earlier, that advertisements should carry the logos of the brands they are trying to advertise through the length of their ads. I would now like to take it a step further.

David Ogilvy, in his book 'Ogilvy on Advertising', says that all print ads should be signed by the writer himself. This will mean that there is additional responsibilty on the writer and the agency to write better ads and make sure every ad counts. I was wondering why this cannot be done for print ads. Imagine ads having a 2 second intro or conclusion credit giving the name of the agency which produced it. This way, the better your ads, the more your agency is known. For the brands, they now can be assured that the agency will make sure they do not put their names on ads which are not upto the standards.

This will help the viewers too. Lesser irritating, stupid ads which make no sense. This will bring in a lot of accountability to advertising is what I think. I know this might not be feasible and all the agencies will surely lobby against it. And when it boils down to it, who would make sure this is done? What governing body?

Anyways, do you think this will work?

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Force India on Pole!

Nobody can believe it! GF is on pole position for the Belgium GP!

This pole is the result of an extremely quick car which was evident throughout the qualifying session. He was quickest in Q1 which is not a fuel dependent run and also 4th quickest in Q2 before taking pole in the dying seconds of Q3.

I hope all of you will be watching Force India take what can be their first podium finish. I really want them to win, but considering that this is the first time they have done so well, I am counting out the nerves and butterflies they would have built up in the past 24 hours.

I am with the Force! Are you?

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Champions League Final Draw

Mouth Watering aint it?

Also, at the gala the following awards were announced:

Club Goalkeeper of the Year: Edwin van der sar
Club Defender of the Year: John Terry
Club Midfielder of the Year: Xavi Hernandez
Club Forward of the Year: Lionel Messi

Club Player of the Year: Lionel Messi

These awards were given based only on the UEFA Champions League 2008-09 matches.

Posted via email from Real Madrid

Genius Husband of the Year

via bspcn.com

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Financial genius!

via dilbert.com

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Wes and Van Der Vaart omitted from final pre-season

A sign that might force Sneijder to accept that he has to leave Madrid and move on to Milan, he was left out of the final pre-season match against Rosberg for the Santiago Bernebeau Trophy.

Sneijder has often insisted that he does not want to leave Madrid and will fight for a place among the high profile signings and the existing Guti and the Diarras. The Madrid midfield might look like Heathrow airport if coach Pellegrini employs a rotation policy, which however is highly unlikely.

In the tug of war between the player and the team, Sneijder has repeated his stance even after his exclusion. Speaking to Marca, he said, "I want to play for Real Madrid. The coach is counting on me and that is what motivates me. I will keep training like a proffessional so that the club sees that I want to stay". I think the whole world knows that you want to stay Wes.

Posted via web from Real Madrid

Its a silver European GP

As the topsy-turvy qualifying sessions continue, this time it was the silver McLarens which came out on top of everyone else once the dust settled. The Brawns needless to say are a close second.

However, the Brawns of RB (3rd) and JB (5th) are heavier than both the silver cars by almost ten Kgs. This means they can gain an advantage by pitting much later thanks to their heavier fuel load.

KR is the first of the Ferraris in 6th with his new teammate Luca Badoer (LB) down in last place.

The good news for Indian fans is that AS of Force India managed to reach Q2 and got a commendable 12th position for himself. His teammate GF is in 16th position.

Here is the final Qualifying result:

1. LH
2. HK
3. RB
4. SV
5. JB
6. KR
7. NR
8. FA
9. MW
10. RK
11. NH
12. AS
13. TG
14. Romain Grosjean (New Renault Drivier)
15. SB
16. GF
17. KN
18. JT
19. JA
20. LB

An exciting race ahead!

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

MISSING!!!

via bspcn.com

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Yes, I am a geek

Yes, and I am proud to be one. No, I am not a nerd. Yes, I look like a nerd.

Yes, I love to read a lot. No, I hate to study. Yes, I am a gadget freak. No, I am not a dork.

Yes, I love libraries, I would love to own one someday. No, I don't spend my days there.

Yes, I read up on the net a lot. No, I don't chat online.

Yes, I love to write, a lot. No, I don't do it to show off.

Yes, I am a geek. No, I am not a good looking one.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Has India got THIS talent?

via youtube.com

This video is here ONLY for its brilliant execution! Awesome! :P

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Affiliate Marketing Vs Ambient Advertising

I am to write a 2500 words White Paper on Affiliate Marketing for a competition. I hope that with the little experience I have of working in the internet industry, it will give me some kind of advantage.

The other topic is Ambient Advertising and even though advertising does attract my attention, I think I can do more justice to Affiliate Marketing. However, if I do choose Ambient Advertising, I guess I will learn a lot more about something I don't really know a whole lot about. But I think it is not that broad a topic in the first place.

Help?

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Another Pre-season victory

Yes, Real Madrid has won another game. But whoever expected them to lose? I guess being Real, you can never say, but anyhow, it was a convincing 2-0 victory against Real Sociedad at their centenary celebrations.

The two goals were scored by the new Madridista Benzema and the soon to be Milanista, Sneijder. I like Wesley, I hope he does not have to leave. I liked most of the dutch players in Real. They seem like a genuinely hard working young men who really wanted to prove their capabilities. However, they couldnt really do a lot for the club last year. But is it unreal to ask so much of youngsters in their first season? Well, at Madrid it is not. You come to the best in the world, you better be one of the best.

So on to the next match at and against Borussia Dortmund on the 19th. You want to take a chance guessing?

Posted via web from Real Madrid

Put the logo throughout the length of an ad!

What would any brand lose if they put the brand name or the logo throughout the length of the ad. I can understand that initially you want to keep a level of suspense and keep the viewer guessing about what brand the ad is all about, but it just defeats the purpose. Are not ads meant to create high recall and make people buy the stuff when you eventually go shopping? But if you want to make more impact by keeping the user guessing and in the bargain losing out on recall in the clutter, what use is it?

I really do believe that the creative people would rather not have the logo throughout the length of the ad as then the user would know what would happen by the end of the ad and thus downplay the creativity of the copywriter. But, ads are not meant to satisfy the copywriter, it is meant to increase the sales and achieve stiff targets!

I recently saw an ad by 'Roca', a bath fitting brand, which had its logo throughout the length of the ad at the bottom corner. I now remember the brand better!

Is there any reason why one would not put the logo right at the beginning of the ad?

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

2012 Trailer - Mind Blowing!

via youtube.com

You HAVE to watch this in full screen HD!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Recession-Proof Graduate

via slideshare.net

This is an absolutely brilliantly written e-book. I can relate to most of what he says and really think he is making the most sense than a lot of people have in a really long time.

I know it is a bit longish for you impatient readers, but this is A MUST READ!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

About okies, lolzz and more

All of us have chatted online. And all of us are familiar with the common chat lingo.

Me however, find some of the words in the lingo quite weird.

Let us start with okies. At first I though this is what people say when they want to say OK to multiple things. Like the plural form of OK. After all, OKs will sound like okies when u say it. BUT, that is not what it is meant for. All it means is OK! Yes, okies and OK are the same! I mean, COME ON! It makes sense if you shorten a particular word so that you make lesser keystrokes, but how does it make ANY sense to ADD three letters to two letter word! I often use 'k' instead of OK. But is it not this that the chat lingo is all about.

The next word in my hit list is lolzzz. WTH! What am I supposed to think when someone says lolzzzzzzzzz? Does it mean you were laughing out loud and then fell asleep? Did what I say make you laugh out of pity? If you want to say that you are laughing out louder, then you might as well say lmao or rofl or lmfao. But no, you use ONLY lolzzz. You will never, just for the sake of variety, use lol to show that you are maybe just giggling. And anyways, how many people are actually laughing out aloud when they say lol? If I actually laugh out loud everytime I say lol, my folks would think I have gone bonkers. Yes, I do say a lot of lol  and hehe and haha, but never lolzzzzz.

What is the deal with some people using '.....' after every thing they say? I can understand it if you say this when you mean to continue your point, but why would anyone say gnite.... and cya.... and tc.... and ..... after every freaking thing they type? It just does not make sense!

The really excited people type '!' everytime before they press enter. Here is an illustration:
abc: watsup!
me: nm...wassup?
abc: nm! u temme!
me: i just told you
abc: ohh! lolzzzz!
me: so wat you doing?
abc: tp!
me: done with your project?
abc: no! i m bored!
me: hmmm
abc: you done?!
me: almost...but ll take more time
abc: cool!
do we have anything else to do?!?!
me: i dnt think so
abc: nice! i m reallly bored ya!!!

Now please do not tell me all of those statements are supposed to have an ! at the end.

Then there are the obsessive smiley users. They know all the smileys ever programmed into any chat client and they are not afraid to use it. They have a smiley for every mood and every reply that they send. All this is fine as it helps you gauge the expression of the other person, but they are not always the right smileys! How obsessed can you get?

There are many more but I would rather leave them for you to comment on. Please add on to this list by weird chatters, it can be you as well!

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

My Starting XI

This formation assuming Robben is sold.

Posted via email from Real Madrid

Mi tercer blog!

That means My third blog.

And there is a good reason why it is in espanyol. This blog is about football and Real Mardid, which is a spanish club and hence the spanish title.

So let me see how updated I can keep this one :)

P.S. Given that not many of my acquaintances are fans of Real Madrid ( and I know this because I am a fan for almost ten years now), I will try and put general footie news here as well. Assuming some of you actually read this.

Posted via web from Real Madrid

Enlightenment

I have realised

1. 90% of people don't work unless told to
2. People generally don't care about anything but themselves
3. Responsibilty is something that everyone is SCARED of
4. People will never own up to their own mistakes
5. There are two kinds of people - those who will be more careful about their own stuff than the stuff they borrow and those who take more care of borrowed stuff than their own stuff
6. People generally have a bad attitude
7. Everyone who thinks they are better than others are generally not
8. Everyone who thinks everyone else is better than them is also generally wrong
9. Not everyone wants to chart a path for others to follow (Why would anyone not want to do this?)
10. I think too much about all this

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Johnnie Walker short film about its branding

via reflectionof.me

A brilliant one shot film on the Keep Walking idea. As good as a 6 minute case study on branding.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Airtel Vs Vodafone 2

I had posted earlier about the Airtel ads and how they are similar to the Vodafone ads.

I have seen a few more from the Airtel campaign, and I have to say, I don't get it! Why would Airtel risk doing something like this?

The ads look similar to Vodafone, they don't look anything like the other Airtel ads, and the most noticable thing in Airtel ads - the music - does not come in until the last 5 seconds! So, how is it helping the ads stay in the viewer's mind?

Usually, an ad can be associated with a particular brand, if there is the usual peculiarity. Like the music in case of the telecom ads. All of them a peculiar music of their own which have become popular in their own right. However, Airtel (which incidentally has the most popular of these, thanks to A R Rehman), is just ruining it. The least they could have done was flashed the Airtel logo at the beginning itself. Most brands like to keep the viewer guessing about the brand, but in most of these cases they get it wrong. They would be better off by showing the brand earlier on and showing it a couple of more times by the end. Especially in this case where people are confusing it to be a competitor's ad!

Come on Airtel! You can do better!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

And so the Marathon begins...

I have registered for the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2010 and successfully begun training today.

I trained with my Jai Hind friend Mohit Saxena and we jogged close to 1.5 KM today and walked 1.5 KM. So on the first day, we have reached half the dream run :P

Hopefully I will be able to reach somewhere with this. I have to keep this up and convert this into a more complete and longer run. Also, have to take care of my diet to build up the stamina I will need from now on!

Too much to take care of while doing an MBA! Any suggestions and tips?

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Schumacher returns!

Yes, it is true!

The Champ is here! He is making a return to the world of F1 to fill the seat vacated by the gravely injured FM. He will drive for the Italian team at the European GP in Valencia on 23rd August. He said that he will be driving for 'team loyalty reasons' at this unfortunate time.

MS last drove an F1 car in April 2008 and with the ban on in-season testing, he will not do so till 21st August for the Friday practice session.

Let us see what the greatest F1 driver of all time can do to this season's championship. :)

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Schumacher returns!

Yes, it is true!

The Champ is here! He is making a return to the world of F1 to fill the seat vacated by the gravely injured FM. He will drive for the Italian team at the European GP in Valencia on 23rd August. He said that he will be driving for 'team loyalty reasons' at this unfortunate time.

MS last drove an F1 car in April 2008 and with the ban on in-season testing, he will not do so till 21st August for the Friday practice session.

Let us see what the greatest F1 driver of all time can do to this season's championship. :)

Posted via email from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Would you show a customer choosing another product in your ad?

via youtube.com

I am sure about 90% of you would answer no to the above question. Even I would.

But the Bajaj XCD ad shown below, proves to be an exception to the rule and does it quite well. I like this extremely risky idea of showing a customer choosing a different product. The ad in point however, makes it a point to show that the customer who is choosing something else, does not deserve the Bajaj anyways. They show the person choosing an average home and an average woman, so it goes without saying that he deserves an average bike as well. However, the execution of this idea is brilliant. They show him recollecting the old XCD ad which is a glossy, slick, upmarket, young, pacy ad of a biker riding with a girl who just won a fight with her twin to sit on the bike (I do like the earlier ad also, but more on that later). He then goes for the cheaper bike, satisfied with his choice.

It is a brilliant idea to create a position in the mind of the customer and at the same time an extremely risky ploy at these times, especially from Bajaj, which is known to give cheaper and more value for money kind of bikes.

What say?

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Multiple positioning of brand Dove

Dove has always been a brand that has been associated with something special. It signifies treating your skin to a better product which everyone cannot afford. Dove has always maintained this positioning strategy (which makes sense as Dove is more expensive than other soaps too and not everyone can afford it). However, recently after the launch of their range of other Dove products they have changed the positioning of the original Dove product.

The recent TV ads for Dove talks about the benefits of Dove and shows a girl in her early twenties as a user as against their usual use of an educated english speaking, working woman. This strategy has shifted now to the hair products. The new ads for their hair care range has women talking in english (one with an accent even) about how they have stopped hair fall by using the Dove products. So they are now saying, that Dove soaps are not really that aspirational any more. Even though it is the same product and costs the same amount if not more expensive, more people can afford it and it would be better to show the benefits for everyone rather than show 'very well to do accented english speaking middle aged women'. So, the product I guess has moved on to the next stage of the PLC.

BCG Matrix anyone?

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Airtel follows Vodafone

Vodafone ads in India have consistently used the most appealing elements. Right from the time it was Hutch, they have used the two most appealing elements - kids and dogs. They have been known to create the maximum connect with the consumers as we had once discussed in an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) lecture.

Not only have they used the two most effective elements, but they have used the two elements extremely effectively. Combined with a catchy jingle, it has traversed every customer segment and managed to create an unparalleled recall value.

Telecom ads have always tried to create an emotional connect and never speak about the service itself. This of course is an exception with the Vodafone value adds and the CDMA networks. The big three, Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have all had memorable jingles which have created the recall value they now have. Airtel has normally used the jingle as the focal point of all their campaigns. However, now Airtel seems to be trying to taking a page out of Vodafone's book. Their new campaign about 'Airtel 5' uses 5 extremely cute kids. Not that the kids are ever going to use the mobile phones, but it is kind of similar to the Vodafone ads. Airtel has used kids earlier too, the one with two kids playing football at the border and the one with the kid who calls his dad on his toy phone after being scolded by the mom.

Look at the pictures below. The first two are the obvious Vodafone ads, the third one is the Airtel football ad and the last one is Airtel or Vodafone?

Is the new campaign with kids too similar to the Vodafone ads? Is the use of too many different themes by Airtel creating confusion in the minds of the consumer? After all, Idea and Vodafone have pretty consistent themes.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog