With no celebrity quotient, how can crypto brands change their ad strategy?
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Given the inherent category challenges, crypto brands need to advertise with caution.
Last year, actor Ranveer Singh channelised his inner ‘Gully Boy’ through one of CoinSwitch Kuber’s #KuchTohBadlega ad films. Through his desi rap, ‘Mar mar ke jeena ka nahi toh dar dar ke jeena ka nahi’, he convinced his gang, who were playing carrom, to invest in cryptocurrency. And, the boys chimed together, ‘Apna time aa gaya bhai’ to Singh’s ‘Ab kya bol reli public?’. This ad film sort of encapsulates the cryptocurrency category in India.
To target the pulse of the youth and to penetrate deeper into the country, crypto brands have been using celebrity power to make noise. From Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Keerthy Suresh, Dinesh Karthik, to an army of major and micro-influencers have been pushing crypto brands since last year. While this trend was just taking off, the marketing strategies of these brands somewhat crashed.
Last month, the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), wrote a letter to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance to restrict celebrities from endorsing a sector that was volatile in nature. Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) stepped in to to assert the fact that celebrities would be held accountable if the ads were found to be misleading. It said ‘Actors had to do their due diligence’. But do they?
The rules of crypto advertising
As per ASCI’s Manisha Kapoor, secretary general and chief executive officer, as of now, there was no law in place that would prohibit them from endorsements on ‘volatile in nature’ subjects. “Since celebrities enjoy a great following and their words carry the potential to influence people, they have to do due diligence to understand a subject they do not have any domain expertise on. Under the law, all endorsers are responsible for the brands and services they promote,” informs Kapoor. To be sure, ASCI doesn’t have legal powers for complaint redressal or removal of ads from the digital platform.
From April 1 this year, ASCI asked all virtual digital assets (VDAs), which are commonly referred to as crypto or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), to add the disclaimer: “Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.” This needs to be carried in a “prominent and unmissable” way in campaigns for products and services.
According to Kapoor, disclaimers must be crafted in a manner that would be unmissed by the consumers. No small type and font, practically illegible writing. The guidelines mention how the disclaimer needs to be featured in ads that are online, in print, on television, in audio or in social media posts.
She explains, “The disclaimer also needs to be made in the dominant language of the advertisement. If these are not followed, the celebrity is not aware of the guidelines, and if the ad is found to be misleading, they are liable to be prosecuted as per the Consumer Protection Act 2019. This involves monetary penalties and suspension from endorsing products as well.”
Addressing the big P of marketing – Product
Harish Bijoor, brand guru and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc thinks that crypto products, and not its ‘advertising’ needed to raise their voice. “New brands will need to depend on direct contact programs, either through Whatsapp advertising or through various other digital means,” he says.
Crypto brands are already changing up their marketing. For instance, CoinSwitchKuber, collaborated with financial influencers like Rachana Ranade, Pranjal Kamra and Sharan Hegde, purely for educational content. The brand’s chief business officer, Sharan Nair, says this is critical to help consumers make informed investment decisions. In case of influencers, ASCI has asked to add the “Paid Partnership” tag while creating branded content, so that there is no ambiguity.
Brands like CoinDCX, WazirX, and ZebPay are also focusing on content marketing at the moment.
Bijoor states that due to interventions from the regulator, some categories would progressively become no-touch categories for brand endorsers. “And, the cryptocurrency category is one such,” he mentions. With the guidelines on cryptocurrency and its respective endorsements in place, it’s time to see how the sector would fare if celeb endorsements cease to exist.”
Codes over strategies
Kapoor stressed that marketers should be familiar with the ASCI code. For them to be more confident in their ads, they must seek advice on the advertising script before it is rolled out for production. She put forth that adherence to the ASCI guidelines would ensure a degree of protection to consumers, as they laid down certain dos and don’ts clearly. Kapoor says, “No advertisement may show that understanding VDA products is so easy that consumers do not have to think twice about investing in it. Nothing in the ad should downplay the risks associated with the category.”
Information contained in advertisements shall not contradict the information or warnings that the regulated entities provide to customers. Advertisements that provide information on the cost or profitability of VDA products shall contain clear, accurate, sufficient and updated information, she states.
“For example, ‘zero cost’ will need to include all costs that the consumer might reasonably associate with the offer or transaction. Information on past performance shall not be provided in any partial or biased manner. Returns for periods of less than 12 months shall not be included,” ASCI’s CEO explains to Storyboard18.
There is still a lot of scope for the crypto brands to market themselves. Responsible marketing over mass marketing should be at the core of strategies. As the category evolves, innovation in advertising will be critical. For now, smart marketing is on charts for crypto brands to explore and expand.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
3 Mins Read
Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter
Storyboard18 | P&G India’s new DEI commitments focus on disability inclusion
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
In a conversation with Storyboard18, Sharat Verma, CMO, Procter & Gamble India shares the plan of action towards these commitments and the progress of the company’s previously launched initiatives
Procter & Gamble India announced new commitments aimed toward advancing equality and inclusion across India, at its third annual #WeSeeEqual summit.
Built on the theme ‘#Unlearn and #Unleash’, the summit saw P&G India commit to several actions needed to advance progress towards creating an equal and inclusive world.
P&G India will improve the accessibility of its brand advertising, including social media content and websites, by making it accessible to people with sight and hearing impairments by 2024.
“I think by 24-25 we should have all of our content accessible and inclusive. We are also on a journey to explore more ways and mechanisms to do this for other touchpoints. We have also made early progress for example Ariel and Tide are accessible to people with color blindness. We are also working towards audio descriptions and captions in our advertising commercials,” says Sharat Verma, CMO, Procter & Gamble India.
P&G India also announced that it will sensitize students pursuing advertising and marketing courses on accurate portrayal and representation of women in advertising. For this P&G will partner with leading marketing and communication colleges to shape the next generation of marketers and advertisers.
“It is important to make equality and inclusion a sustainable part of creativity. There we are committed to make the next generation of marketers drive a holistic change in imagery,” adds Verma.
Last year, P&G committed to spending a cumulative total of Rs 300 crore by consciously working with women-owned and women-led businesses in India, from the year 2021 to 2025. With already more than Rd 200 crore invested through this initiative in the first year across India, the company is now elevating this commitment to Rs 500 crore by 2025.
At the #WeSeeEqual summit, P&G India has also made a commitment to introduce the ‘P&G ReLaunch program’ – to welcome back talented professionals who took a break from the workforce and are looking to restart their careers in STEM roles, with targeted support and development. This program is part of the company’s commitment to strengthening diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and will focus on people looking to relaunch their careers in IT, Research & Development, and Product Supply.
“One of our key focus areas this year is representation and diversity in STEM. Therefore to encourage girls to take up and continue with STEM courses and today we announced the P&G Shiksha Betiyan Scholarship Program”, says Verma.
‘P&G Shiksha Betiyan Scholarship Program’ will provide financial aid and mentorship to girls wanting to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education.
This program will be introduced across over 50 colleges including technical institutes, undergraduate colleges and post-graduate universities. The program will be aimed at underprivileged girls and will provide them with financial support and mentorship as they pursue STEM education.
All of these efforts will be fronted and initiated by individual P&G India brands to begin with and later taken across different products and brands. For example conversation around women representation in STEM has been fronted by OLAY for the past couple of years.
Speaking about the importance of being purpose-driven, Verma says that consumers are targeted with about 4000 ads in a day, “there is a massive clutter.” “With reducing attention span, one way to break through the clutter and make them notice what we want to say in connecting with them on shared values and beliefs. 9 out of 10 consumers feel better about a brand that supports a social cause or an environmental cause. Why is that? Because you make friends with people with shared values and beliefs. It is really the same for consumers. Once you connect with them, it has an outright impact on the brand. They notice you more. Like one notices their friends more. And everything that the brand does gets more attention.”
Verma adds that P&G India believes in long term commitment. “Meaningful change takes time. Purpose can’t change every season.”
Catch the full interview on Storyboard18 on CNBC-TV18 this weekend.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
3 Mins Read
Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter
Storyboard18 x Just Sports | Future of sports marketing In India
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Storyboard18 kicks off Just Sports, a special spotlight on sports marketing in India with predictions, insights and analyses for navigating the key trends that will drive the industry.
Is India a one-sport nation? Is it an emerging sporting powerhouse? How are marketers looking beyond cricket, Kohli and Dhoni? What are the emerging sports and players turning brand marketers’ attention and investments? How are brands turning fans into loyal customers? What will sports marketing look like in 2023? What’s the modern marketer’s new playbook?
To answer all these questions and more, Storyboard18 is launching a new initiative to focus on themes and topics that are pushing marketers to reshape and rethink how brands interact with today’s consumers.
We’re kicking off with Just Sports, a special spotlight on the present and future of sports marketing in India.
In this month’s theme in focus, we bring you stories of how marketers are harnessing the power of technology, innovation and creativity in sports to create powerful storytelling in campaigns that increase affinity and loyalty with audiences.
From traditional sports platforms around cricket to emerging platforms and games, and the rise of esports, we’ll get leading voices from the marketing and sports world to give us sharp and fast insights into future-facing marketing practices. We will also provide analysis which will surface ideas and strategies that are helping brands to level up experiences and storytelling with authentic collaborations.
Find out what sports marketing will look like in 2023 with predictions and best insights for navigating the key trends that will drive the industry. Learn how brands can use technology and innovation to evolve fan experiences with apps, gamification, AR and VR, NFTs etc leveling up the fan experience. And spot the next big thing like the rise of esports and the biggest opportunities in esports for marketers right now.
We spotlight the need for grassroots movements and how brand marketers can engage diverse communities and help shape a bright future of sports in the country while leveling the playing field.
Get all this and more with Storyboard18’s Month In Focus. Watch this space for Just Sports.
Note to readers: Storyboard18’s new Month In Focus initiative spotlights themes and topics that are pushing marketers to reshape and rethink how brands interact with today’s customers. Our first theme is Just Sports, a special spotlight on sports marketing. We bring to you stories of how marketers are harnessing the power of technology, innovation and creativity in sports to create powerful storytelling in campaigns that increase affinity and loyalty with audiences. From traditional sports platforms around cricket to emerging games and the rise of esports, we get leading voices from the marketing and sports worlds to give us sharp and fast insights into future-facing marketing practices. Also, tune in for analyses which will surface ideas and strategies that are helping brands to level up experiences and storytelling with authentic collaborations. So watch this space for Just Sports.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
3 Mins Read
Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter
Storyboard18 × Just Sports | What will sports marketing look like in 2022 & 2023?
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Fan experiences have become more immersive with new tech tools like metaverse and digital collectibles and engagement has become top most priority for broadcasters and franchises across sports formats.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the sports industry as live events halted for good two years. The unprecedented event changed the way fans consumed sports content, pushing sports marketing firms to devise ways to make sports more engaging and personal in the virtual world.
Sports marketing experts and media executives Storyboard18 spoke to, talk about the new world order where digital has taken the centre stage. Fan experiences have become more immersive with new tech tools like metaverse and digital collectibles and engagement has become top most priority for broadcasters and franchises across sports formats.
Focus on sports content by brands
Post the pandemic, sport and fitness have become big drivers in the mindset and one is seeing people consuming a lot of all this and new age brands prefer sports talent because of the values that they bring in, says Nikhil Bardia, head of sponsorship sales & talent at RISE Worldwide.
“As the world moves to digital and specific RoIs can be calculated, there is no better economical way than sports to reach out to such a national/ international customer/ fan base,” he notes.
Spotify (music category), for instance, is a new entrant this year along with internet commerce company Meesho, which has partnered with four IPL teams and will be the official online shopping partner for the five-time champion Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, and Gujarat Titans.
Lucky Saini, vice-president and head of brand, Meesho, tells Storyboard18 that the partnership will help reach out to the value shopper across India.
“IPL also helps maximise our reach amongst the men shoppers as it has a higher inclination towards male viewers,” he notes.
Web 3.0 and deeper fan engagement
Interestingly, we are also witnessing a dawn where the world moves into Web 3.0. brands, teams, franchises, and leagues are extensively capitalizing on the emerging scope of collectibles and indulging in the metaverse, says Bardia of RISE Worldwide.
“Additionally, brands are looking at leveraging AR and VR tools to engage with the audience. As we head into this new era, it shall open a plethora of options for brands to utilize selectively,” he adds.
IPL franchise Gujarat Titans, for instance, has introduced an innovative fan engagement strategy with a player interaction in a metaverse. The team let its batsman Shubman Gill chat with fans in the Gujarat Titans’ Locker Room and Home Stadium in a metaverse on April 15 where he showed the fans around the two rooms created by the team and answered a few questions.
In December 2021, Yuvraj Singh also launched his own NFT collection, which marks his entry into the digital space of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with his collaboration with Colexion, Asia’s biggest licensed NFT marketplace.
Other new technological features announced by the company include a metaverse cricket show, a new online voting system, mixed reality analysis and a new ‘Behind the Scenes’ (BTS) tech venture among others.
Divyanshu Singh, head of sales, and marketing JSW Sports notes that the biggest takeaway from 2022 is that it will be the year where digital ad spends surpass TV ad spends, which is in the range of Rs 40,000 crore. This was supposed to happen in 2025 but was accelerated by the pandemic.
“Firstly, brands and sponsors are trying to understand how sports assets can be leveraged on digital platforms. It is no longer just about branding on the jerseys, but how influencer marketing can penetrate the digital world. In addition, it’s about time we understand some of the global trends and learn from them, from NFTs to digital collectibles to Web 3.0 to blockchain in sports.”
“We’ve seen some of our talent, such as Rishabh Pant, foray into the industry. Delhi Capitals is also soon going to announce a major partnership to launch its digital collectibles, which will make it the first franchise to do so in the IPL. The metaverse and how Web 3.0 are taking off in India will be something that everyone is incredibly interested in seeing as a major development in the coming year as well,” he further adds.
Continued rise of digital media
Experts believe that the way sports will be marketed will be driven by these significant consumer behavioural changes. This is where the ease and convenience of watching the games on digital screens comes into play.
According to R. Venkatasubramanian, president & national head–investments, Havas Media Group India, lower subscription rates on digital and urban cosmopolitan culture that makes people view these games on their handheld devices are some of the reasons digital platforms are gaining popularity when it comes to sports content.
“So, for broadcasters, it would be much easier, trackable and cheaper to reach out to the relevant TG, who are digital native on these platforms. This is certainly one of the major shifts in sports marketing, where the spends are primarily dominated by traditional medium, mainly TV,” he notes.
“Also, multimedia connectivity would play a huge role in reaching out to the consumers, hence broadcasters will not rely on TV viewership alone for returns, as subscriptions across these multimedia platforms would also be equally important, if not more,” he concludes.
Note to readers: Storyboard18’s new Month In Focus initiative spotlights themes and topics that are pushing marketers to reshape and rethink how brands interact with today’s customers. Our first theme is Just Sports, a special spotlight on sports marketing. We bring to you stories of how marketers are harnessing the power of technology, innovation and creativity in sports to create powerful storytelling in campaigns that increase affinity and loyalty with audiences. From traditional sports platforms around cricket to emerging games and the rise of esports, we get leading voices from the marketing and sports worlds to give us sharp and fast insights into future-facing marketing practices. Also, tune in for analyses which will surface ideas and strategies that are helping brands to level up experiences and storytelling with authentic collaborations. So watch this space for Just Sports.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
3 Mins Read
Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter
Storyboard18 x The English Nut: How to pronounce these 10 brand names
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
‘Eve Saan Lorawn’. ‘Zhee-vawn-shee’. ‘Uh-doe-bee’. These are not just sounds. The English Nut (Sumanto Chattopadhyay) and Storyboard18 present an easy guide to pronouncing hard-to-pronounce brand names.
Do you struggle with the pronunciation of international brand names? Have you been unknowingly mispronouncing some of them for years? Here are ten brand names, some high-end, some mass market, in no particular order, with my take on how to say them right. I’ll also throw in a titbit or two about each brand. Do note that this video is a collaboration between Storyboard18 and The English Nut. Keep watching and reading. It’ll be fun. I promise!
Hyundai pronounced ‘Hun-day’
It’s Hyundai, like Sunday. Remember the Super Bowl ad in which the South Korean car maker’s competitors were screaming out its name in anger because it won an award? The ad put the screaming in context with the line, ‘Win one little award and suddenly everyone gets your name right.’ The commercial ends with the mnemonic, ‘It’s Hyundai, like Sunday.’ Great way to tell the world you won an award and to get people to pronounce your name right.
Yves Saint Laurent pronounced ‘Eve Saan Lorawn’
‘Eves Saint Law-rent?’ No, mademoiselle. No, monsieur. C’est Yves Saint Laurent. The two n’s aren’t really pronounced. You just nasalise the preceding vowel sounds. ‘Saan Lorawn’. You see, Yves Saint Laurent was a Frenchman. He was also one of the foremost fashion designers of the 20th century. He started his own fashion house after being sacked by Dior—whom he sued and won. If you have trouble with the French pronunciation, you can say it the English way—Yves Saint Laurent. Or shorten it to its initials, YSL. But if you want to get it absolutely right, say ‘Eve Saan Lorawn’.
Amazon pronounced ‘Am-uh-zon’
This is an American multinational, so we go with the American pronunciation of the name. Amazon—where ‘zon’ rhymes with ‘don’. Now, before there was Amazon, the company, there was Amazon, the rainforest. And the mythical female warriors, the Amazons. Of course, the British pronunciation for the rainforest and the warriors is ‘Am-uh-zun’ and ‘Am-uh-zuns’. But when it comes to the company name, it’s best to stick to the American way—‘Am-uh-zon’.
In English, it’s usually pronounced as ‘Volks-wagon’. But the original German pronunciation is ‘Folks-vaagen’, which means ‘people’s car.’ You know—folks, people. Same difference. This company, known for its iconic Beetle, was launched in 1937 to make cars that the German masses could afford. Hence the name.
Nestlé pronounced ‘Nes-lay’
I’ve seen old American ads where it’s pronounced Ness-lee. And, back in the day, I’ve heard British kids say ‘Nesslz’ chocolate. But given that it’s a Swiss multinational company named after its founder Henri Nestlé and his surname has an acute accent on the e at the end, I would pronounce it as Ness-lay. Henri Nestlé was born Heinrich Nestlé and was actually of German origin. Nestlé means ‘little nest’ in the German dialect he spoke—which is why the company logo features a little nest.
Givenchy pronounced ‘Zhee-vawn-shee’
Givenchy is a high-end French fashion and perfume house. It’s pronounced ‘Zhee-VAWN-shee’ not ‘Giv-en-chee’ or ‘Jiv-en-chee’. Founded in 1952 by French aristocrat and fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy. The v-e-n in the name is pronounced ‘vawn’. The n is not really articulated. The vowel sound before it is nasalised. ‘Vawn’. Givenchy achieved fame in the world of haute couture with his very first collection—which was lauded by Vogue.
‘Haute couture’ means high fashion in French. The h is silent and the t is soft in French—so it’s ‘oat’ couture, not ‘hot’ couture. Also, you don’t pronounce the last letters of most words as per French rules, but you do pronounce the penultimate ones. For haute couture that would be t and r respectively. The sound of the r in French is somewhere between the r and h of English. Or you could think of it as a softer version of the ‘kha’ sound in Urdu—like in ‘khair’ or ‘khabar’.
Now, you’re ready to indulge in haute couture by Givenchy.
Lamborghini pronounced ‘Lambor-GEE-nee’
I hear it being pronounced as Lam-BOR-ginee. But it’s Lambor-GEE-nee. It’s an Italian brand and that’s how Italians say it: ‘Lambor-GEE-nee’. It’s named after its founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini. Note that the stress is on the second-last syllable—‘GEE’. Lambor-GEE-nee. Of course, if you can afford a luxury sports car by Lamborghini, you can pronounce it any way you please!
Adobe pronounced ‘Uh-doe-bee’
It’s not ‘Ad-obe’, but ‘Uh-doe-bee’. The English word adobe refers to a brick of sun-dried earth and straw that is used to build houses in certain places. The word came into English from Arabic via Spanish. Of course, today Adobe is better known as the name of the American multinational computer software company that makes, among other things, the famous Adobe Photoshop software.
I say ‘I-KEE-ah’. Everyone I know says ‘I-KEE-ah’. The Indian ads and the American ones say ‘I-KEE-ah’. But interestingly, the UK ads say ‘Ee-KAY-ah’, which is closer to the Swedish pronunciation. So if we want to say it the authentic Swedish way we can say ‘Ee-KAY-ah’. Or we can say it like the American and Indian ads: ‘I-KEE-ah’. I’m going to stick with ‘I-KEE-ah’—except when I’m in Scandinavia.
Zomato pronounced ‘Zo-mah-to’
‘You like potayto and I like potahto
You like tomayto and I like tomahto
Potayto, potahto, tomayto, tomahto.
Let’s call the whole thing off’
Remember the old song from the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical Shall We Dance?
We might face a similar quandary with the brand name ‘Zo-mah-to’. Or is it Zo-may-to? Or Zo-mat-oh?
Well, Zomato is an Indian multinational and I’ve heard its Indian founders pronounce it as ‘Zo-mah-to’. So that’s the right pronunciation. We’ll let Fred and Ginger keep on arguing about tomayto and tomahto. But we’ll say ‘Zomahto’.
So we covered ten brand names. And how to say them right. I hope you enjoyed the video.
For more insights on the English language, delivered with wit and charm, do subscribe to The English Nut on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
3 Mins Read
Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter
Storyboard18 | India is ‘sneaking’ in a billion-dollar industry in shoe boxes
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Untouched by the pandemic, the sneaker culture in India is on a rapid growth trajectory. From customizing sneakers to reselling limited pairs at a 10X mark up, the sneaker business in the country is lacing up.
An HNI bride flew from Dubai to meet multimedia artist Param Sahib Singh in Delhi this wedding season. She didn’t fly down to buy her bridal lehenga. She flew in to get herself her wedding shoes which was an exclusive pair of suede high boots customized as per her taste.
Param who is known for his street fashion line and eclectic art on sneakers had to sign an NDA to keep the bride’s identity hidden and the image of the shoe away from social media. The said bride spent Rs2 lakh on her boots.
Param takes up customization orders that go up to a lakh and some of these customizations take more than two months to implement.
He says, “Customizing your sneaker is like getting a tattoo. It’s personal and it reflects your style.”
Customization however is just one part of the sneaker boom in the country.
The Indian sneaker market is literally going places.
As per market and consumer data experts Statista, revenue in the sneakers segment in India amounts to $2.60 billion in 2022 and the market is expected to grow annually by 11.58 percent.
Interestingly the major chunk of money generated in the segment doesn’t come from the retail business.
Cop and drop
Alongside the regular retail sales, what is pushing the numbers in sneaker business out of the park is the resale market where it is all about ‘cop’ and ‘drop’. In sneaker lingo, ‘drop’ is when popular labels like Nike, Adidas, Jordan and others announce new launches and ‘copping’ is the act of successfully buying a pair of sneakers.
Explaining how it all works Danish Chawla, Co-Founder at Find Your Kicks India says, “Brands announce their launches at a fixed time. Nike, for instance, drops their collection at 7.30 am IST and within a minute the entire collection is sold. Sometimes collections also sell out in less than 10 seconds. This is when marketplaces like us get in touch with resellers and stock up the limited edition pairs for sneakerheads.”
Interestingly, according to Chawla, the sneaker business wasn’t hit by the pandemic at all. The brands didn’t miss a single drop and it was business as usual. In fact, Chawla’s business also started during the pandemic in October 2020.
Valued at Rs4 crore, Find Your Kicks India works with close to 3000 resellers who pay the platform a monthly subscription fee between Rs1500-6000. The platform sells anywhere between 300 and 500 sneakers a month.
Chawla also mentions that not every sneaker goes on to become a rage. Marketplaces have a proper analysis system in place that identify sneakers with a potential to become a rare asset that can be sold at a remarkable price.
A sneaker by a Nike or an Adidas with an MRP of Rs20000 approximately can be sold for as high as Rs 2 lakhs in the resale market, says Chawla.
The Air Jordan 1 Mocha, for instance, that was retailed at Rs15000 is now priced at Rs50000 approximately in the resale market and The Air Jordan I High Travis Scott that was also retailed at the same price now costs above Rs1.5 lakh. The markup is usually charged on the basis of hype and availability because most of these pairs are released as limited edition merchandise by the brands.
Talking of availability, a reseller, 20-year-old Ayush Chawla, says until some time back people engaged bots for copping and it was not just impossible for individuals to get their hands on a pair of sneakers when they were released but difficult for resellers too.
“Brands now have a lucky draw process where resellers like us can easily cop. For individuals though it can take at least 10-15 attempts to buy a single pair,” he says.
But what makes all these efforts worth it for sneakerheads?
Dhruv Sheth, COO at OML Entertainment Private Limited who is also a sneakerhead and owns about 60 pairs of sneakers himself says sneakers today are like rare commodities. He says sneakers are fashion statement with no size discrimination.
“StockX and Goat, both unicorns, now buy and sell shoes and trade them like rare commodities and that is exactly what the sneaker culture is all about. It is about the hype and it is about copping a rare pair. The entry of luxe brands in the segment and collaborations like the Dior-Nike collab is making the space more interesting,” he says.
According to Seth sneakerheads are ready to pay prices as high as Rs4 lakhs on a sneaker that was retailed at Rs15000 but are very rare to find.
Who’s buying? Experts suggest that the space is dominated by millennials in the age group of 14-30.
Marketplaces Galore
While there are only two big retailers in the segment VegNonVeg and Supekicks, there are umpteen market places in India where sneakerheads source their latest pairs from.
Param Minhas, founder and CEO at one of the most popular sneaker marketplace in the country SoleSearch says close to a year and half back Instagram saw an avalanche of resellers in India, all of them selling hype sneakers. “This is where marketplaces like us and a few others come in. We organized the business and started categorizing each and every pair as per size, style, availability etc,” Minhas says.
After operating through Instagram, SoleSearch launched its own website this January and ever since they have been clocking in sales to the tune of a crore monthly where the average ticket size, of the close to 100 pairs sold a month, is about Rs25000.
According to Minhas there is a new market place player entering the segment every day because of the demand and the sheer volume of business being done in the country.
Conventions and brand collabs
However, regardless of the sales in the segment, there is still a bit of a bad reputation attached to ‘reselling’ , says Minhas and keeping that in mind his company has created an IP that is an exhibition of sorts to give a platform to all the artists and stakeholders in the space.
“The sneaker culture like we see in a lot of brand collaborations is not just about a pair of shoes, it is also about art, artists, expressions, innovations and above all creativity. Hence creating a platform for stakeholders is very important,” he says.
SoleSearch has created a convention for sneaker enthusiasts both on the buyer and seller side and has put together eight editions of it in the last six months across the country in places like Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Goa and others, where each vendor sells products worth Rs4-5 lakh per day.
Brands not in the fashion space have also taken interest in the segment due to the growing hype of the community.
Tinder, for instance, in the past week released a limited-edition, capsule collection of 10 sneakers with FILA, hand illustrated by artists across India, highlighting the theme of identity, authenticity and diversity.
‘Sneaker’ as one of the interests grew by 2.5X in 2021 on Tinder, which is a clear testament of Gen-Z’s affinity in using sneakers to let a potential match know what their ‘vibe’ is.
Sneakers are a gender-neutral streetwear symbol that are non-conforming to traditional fashion, rules, and regulations,” says Aahana Dhar, Director – Communications, Tinder India, adding that it is exactly the beliefs that their Gen-Z members embody.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
3 Mins Read
Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter
Storyboard18 | Women in leadership: How to #OwnIt and #BreakTheBias
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Women leaders in business, sales and marketing tell us how they are spearheading change in the industry.
In an unfiltered conversation, women leaders in business, sales and marketing shared how they have been spearheading change in the industry and leading the way to craft powerful impact, drive businesses, and cultivate a truly inclusive environment/culture.
These women have been leading the way by following their passions and teaching the world how to #OwnIt and #BreakTheBias. On the Twitter Spaces session panel, we had: Sapna Chadha, Vice-President Marketing, India & South East Asia, Google; Apurva Purohit, Author and Co-Founder, Aazol; Anuranjita Kumar, Author, Founder & CEO, We-ACE; and Kanika Mittal, Lead, Large Client Solutions, Twitter India. The session was hosted and moderated by Storyboard18’s editor Delshad Irani. Read on to find out how these women #OwnIt and #BreakTheBias in life and at work.
Edited excerpts.
As women, how difficult do you think it is for us to find a calling that’s our own and is not in any way, superimposed by society or in the moulds society has made for us? How difficult or easy is it for us, coming from the space of business and marketing?
Sapna Chadha: Growing up, I watched my mother, as a woman in technology in the 70s, a space widely dominated by men. So I didn’t think it was hard to find your own calling and space.
Sapna Chadha, Vice-President Marketing, India & South East Asia, Google
That was until I moved to India from the US, and had children. My belief started shaking, as I felt the society’s expectations of me superimposed with my career ambitions. That’s when I realized that perhaps, I was a real minority. I almost dropped out of the career, while on the road to becoming a Chief Marketing Officer. It took several allies and sponsors, a lot of them being male champions of change, encouraging me to not quit, for me to decide on staying.
Society does superimpose expectations on women, creating doubts that wander like gremlins in our own heads. But we are capable of overcoming those doubts. Today, I firmly believe that women can do what they want and I will tell my daughter the same and not to worry about what society says.
Anuranjita Kumar: I’m still searching for my calling. Even though I had both working parents, they were doctors and expected me to follow the same path. However, a year into my medical course I realized it’s not what I wanted to do.
I went on to experiment with psychology and then HR. In the past 25-26 years I have found my milestones changing based on the stage I was at in my life.
Anuranjita Kumar, Author, Founder & CEO, We-ACE
There has always been background noise and influences. There’s pressure to get married, then have kids and so on. It can get confusing. I was very lucky to have a brilliant partner and a supportive ecosystem throughout my career.
After working for almost 2.5 decades, I decided to create more impact and become an entrepreneur. I do feel in the last two years that I may have found a calling. It gets tough when you enter this late in the market as a woman entrepreneur.
People ask why I want to start over at this stage? The question is how much conviction you have for what you really want to do and how you stay the course, then you brace for any challenges on the way.
Apurva, you’ve led organizations and have had an illustrious career. Has your calling changed a few times?
Apurva Purohit: It’s very clear that for women to find their space where they can be themselves is not easy. Today, there is so much more discussion on diversity, reservations, flexible timings and back to work initiatives for women.
However, the socializing that women have gone through, pulls them back constantly. They are told their primary role is as nurturers and not wage earners.
Apurva Purohit, Author and Co-Founder, Aazol
According to a research released around Women’s Day, the majority participants out of a large sample, agreed that men and women have equal rights today, in 2022. But the same majority of participants believed that in the case of scarcity of jobs, men had more rights over the jobs compared to women.
That really summarizes the reality today, a woman’s career is seen as something she does for herself, while a man’s career is something that he does for the family. This perception has led to a headwind against women who are trying to find their space.
We need to prioritize ourselves and realize that their career is as important as their family and husband. That must be followed by creating a supportive ecosystem around you and then battling your intrusive thoughts. It’s career and family, not career or family.
Kanika Mittal: My career trajectory to Twitter was also very different. I was the CMO at Reebok, I left that job at the peak of my career. I was deeply passionate and fond of marketing, it was my calling at that time. But then I moved to sales. I joined Twitter.
Kanika Mittal, Lead, Large Client Solutions, Twitter India
It did take a lot of determination. A lot of effort, and a lot of resilience to shine in the role. Therefore it all boils down to what you’re truly feeling passionate about at that moment. How much are you willing to commit, learn and relearn and start all over.
We are so much better equipped today in terms of policies around diversity and inclusion, there are flexibilities to commuting or hybrid working. With all of this enablement and the right mindset you can pursue your calling in life. No matter how many times it changes.
What are your thoughts on mentorship and how women can support each other to navigate through all these challenges, especially in traditionally male dominated industries? If you could give a few examples of how mentorship and guidance helped you and how you were in turn able to make an impact on other women’s life, giving them wings to fly.
Kanika Mittal: I personally believe mentorship is key to success, especially women mentoring women is much needed because only women can understand each other’s challenges.
Sarah Personette, who leads Global Customer Solutions on Twitter, inspires me. She spoke about imposter syndrome, about moments in our careers where we doubt ourselves and don’t feel confident enough. Women often have this innate ability of critiquing ourselves and not appreciating ourselves, the way our male counterparts might do for themselves. This is deeply prevalent. She said that it might just be a good thing. Not being over-confident makes you a better leader, it makes you a nurturer, and helps you do your job with more empathy.
I used to run a programme called Streak, which also means a group of tigers. I believe that when women return to work after their maternity break, they are figuratively like a group of tigers wanting to roll back with all the energy possible. But they’re also pulled back, since it’s hard to physically be on their A-game after the past 6 months of being with a baby.
Streak supports and mentors these tigresses for 6-12 months post their leaves, helping them keep up with their career trajectory to become the best version of themselves.
Anuranjita, having worked in extremely competitive environments where everything is high and running. Is there a pattern observed among women’s behavior in such environments versus their male counterparts? Are they more organized or composed when dealing with high pressure situations? What are some of the areas where we could do better?
Anuranjita Kumar: When I was doing my first fundraiser as a novice entrepreneur. Having never been on the client-end, my first pitch was so bad that I wouldn’t give myself money. Over time I learned how to pull pitches together and manage investors. When we did the final pitch to our lead investor, I thought I had done a brilliant job with a 45-minute slideshow. But he looked at me and said he didn’t get how we will make money out of this? My heart sank and I thought we had lost the investor. But we started again and spoke to him in his own language. The deal was done in 15 minutes. I genuinely believe men and women’s experience in high pressure environments depends on how used to you are to dealing with it.
An advice I would like to give is to balance your emotions to be clear of your purpose, so when situations get tricky, our confidence doesn’t waver.
Staying objective is necessary, you can be passionate about work while maintaining a distance. I don’t think that women are more emotional than men. I think sometimes low self-esteem emanates from nervousness.
What would you say is the current state of how we’re looking at women as business leaders? How are women still struggling with imposter syndrome and dealing with the hit at our confidence now and then?
Apurva Purohit: The world is validating and supporting the requirement for more women leaders. All data and research on the ways of working post the pandemic recognizes women as more empathetic, nurturing and more collaborative. Far better in managing the changing world.
Unfortunately, while the world is patting us on the back and asking for more women leaders based on a country’s GDP or an organizations’ profitability, I’m not sure whether we believe this narrative ourselves. That’s the constant messaging I give to all women, there is a critic sitting inside of us, that imposter, who’s telling us we’re not good enough. That’s majorly because of how we’ve been brought up. We minimize them by telling them what they can and cannot do.
That inner-critic needs to change into a cheerleader. It starts with us, cheering for ourselves. The next thing to do would be to raise our daughters differently from how it has always been. Going back to the point of mentorship, I’ve seen the power of women supporting other women.
Many times organizations, in their desire to take care of women, end up doing something that I call the patriarchal bias, where they don’t give women tough roles or assignments. “She has a family to take care of. How can I expect her to travel? She has small children at home. This job entails working with a very tough client.”
When we don’t give women these tough jobs in the view of taking care of them, we are hampering their growth.
I’ve always believed in my own set of organizations that except for those 2-3 years where women have had children and they need that special support, we have to treat them exactly in the same manner as our male executives colleagues. Only then will they grow and succeed.
Sapna, since you mentioned your personal experience of motherhood and coming back to work, any thoughts on what Apurva just said?
Sapna Chadha: We sometimes underestimate how much of the issue of the gender gap is caused by ourselves. Out of women holding themselves back and men holding them back from their careers, I see more women being their own saboteurs. It is on all of us in the system to push women in better directions. Women often don’t apply for jobs unless they have 100 percent of the qualification, that’s not really common among men. This is where we need to make information a power.
We recently launched a campaign called ‘Search for Change’ which we came up with because we saw the questions that women were asking themselves on Google. They’re asking about equal pay, what discrimination looks like, what they can do about it? How to get access to loans or financial support?
Women are asking questions they didn’t before, they were scared to use their voice in our world. So they would keep the questions to themselves. Ultimately education and information is going to be propeller for women and hopefully give them the confidence that they need to move forward and use their voice more.
How do you think young women should go about matching their interests with opportunities that are available to them? Especially if you look at a space like sales and marketing, which is so rich and thriving with opportunities. So how should young women steer through the clutter and opportunity gaps and find where to plant one’s roots?
Kanika Mittal: My 3P framework:
Passion: Find what you’re really passionate about.
Purpose: Once you start pursuing your passion, think about what is the purpose of it. It’s easy to fall into a rut in our day-to-day lives and our job. Finding a purpose that really excites our soul can turn your passion into something that gives your work meaning.
Persistence: Don’t give up. Be persistent. Life is never going to be easy for working women. We are wearing multiple hats all the time. So if you really want to succeed, the crux of it is to be persistent and not give up.
In your experience of working with younger women as well as women rethinking their priorities and what they want to do. What is your advice to them?
Anuranjita Kumar: Mentoring and talking to people with more experience in your industry works. We have about 200,000 women on the We-Ace platform, they often ask us questions. We help them by:
-Helping them identify what they want, when they tell us they wish to change career paths.
-Connecting to people who have experienced the pros and cons of such a situation.
-Skill enhancements at this time are important to consider trends in technology driving an industry before moving into it.
What are your thoughts on opportunities, and women finding where to plant their roots?
Apurva Purohit:
-Sometimes women want to have it all at the same time. Of course they will get it, but in a 30 or 40-year career, not in the first five years. Thus it’s important to prioritize your goals and draw milestones for yourself, so you can stay focused and follow through life more easily.
-Many women look at their weaknesses instead of their strengths, and I see that happening repeatedly. Focus on your strengths, build them up further, and don’t agitate over your weaknesses.
-I think women need to focus and find their purpose to be able to co-opt their families into their career. Families often don’t even know what women do at work. I’ve been hoping that in the last two years of working from home has showcased to our families how important our jobs are and how fulfilled we feel doing so.
Sapna Chadha:
-Share your love for work and your accomplishments with your family. We might think that at home, my kids and family should be a priority. But once you start sharing your work life with your families, you may get respect from them and even emotional support as they start to understand your work.
-I always tell women I work with that careers are like jungle gyms, not ladders. They aren’t a straight path, you have to stretch, navigate and move around, and take risks to reach success. Moving around and taking risks helped me have a bird’s eye view of new opportunities.
-With all the advancements we are seeing with technology being used in marketing, I see more women holding themselves back because they think it’s hard. But nothing is as hard as we think, once we get into it.
What is the best advice that you received in your career?
Sapna Chadha: Quiet the gremlins in my head anytime they come in because they will continue to come and I can’t get rid of them completely.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
3 Mins Read
Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter
Storyboard18 | ‘Seeing a lot of new money coming into the market…’: GroupM’s Ashutosh Srivastava
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
In a freewheeling chat, GroupM’s APAC CEO Ashutosh Srivastava tells us how the company is dealing with disruptive trends, the big opportunities unlocked by new brands, and talent issues.
Two years after being named APAC CEO for GroupM, Ashutosh Srivastava visited India for the first time since taking on the new role. Storyboard18 caught up with Srivastava on the sidelines of his visit where he spoke about his outlook and expectations for the India market, how GroupM is working on a ‘Media Decarbonization Programme’, its efforts towards building talent infrastructure and more.
Edited excerpts.
What is the purpose of your first visit to India after 27 months and what is on the agenda?
A lot of things on the agenda. The world has moved so much in these past 27 months, as has India. It is a really exciting time for us. There are a lot of new opportunities, new challenges. This visit is to see what is happening here. Where can we accelerate, what are the challenges to be overcome and spend time with people. Because ours is a people’s business. While MS Teams has been very good at keeping the functional communication going, there’s nothing like being with everyone and really seeing what’s going on.
How has the region and specifically the India market fared in the past two years?
The first 4-5 months were really tough while the whole reset was being done. But once that was done, we saw the demand for help on commerce, on organizing data and implementing technology to create interesting consumer experiences for those who were stuck at home or had reduced mobility. These situations called for new solutions.
The other fundamental dynamic that changed in the industry is the interest in people using technology and therefore the platforms to set up businesses using tech so that you can go directly to the consumers. Whether it is established brands or new businesses.
What we are seeing is a lot of new money coming into the market. All of it has created a demand for our sector and the complexity is rising. For people like us that is a massive opportunity.
There is a neutral independent planner who is sitting on the outside asking, ‘shall I be spending this much on the platform X vs Y, what will give me a better end outcome, how do I get more accountability, etc. So there are 20 other levers of growth which we are finding to reduce the complexity.
There are not enough people today to do this and therefore our only challenge is preparing a talent pool of people.
Creating a talent pool is one of the biggest challenges that agencies are facing today. How are you grappling with and managing the exodus of people from agencies to other sectors?
There are only two ways in which we can do it. One is to simply beef up the entry-level program and go to more hunting grounds, which means do more effective pipelining and expand the places from where you are hiring people. Second, what can we do to give them the foundational skills and get them to start doing the job well? And third is of course hiring from adjacent sectors like business services delivery companies such as Accenture, Cognizant and Wipro. And also the platforms (tech companies) themselves. Platforms hire from us but we also hire from the platforms. People do go there, learn certain skills because they also want to broaden their skills. It is a two-way traffic.
And what about talent retention? What are you doing to keep people?
We will still have to cater to 25-30 percent attrition every year. Plus, the pipeline to build the new talent means massive scaling of talent acquisition plus learning and development. Learning and development is not just about technical skills that of course needs to be done. We have hired 100 people at the entry level and we are doing this every quarter. We are giving them the technical skills. But, we also realized that once we start moving and start to broaden the places where you hire from, you are also getting people who have never worked in sectors like these. In fact, they have not worked in corporate sectors. So there are multiple facets in order to prepare people to work successfully.
How has the role of a holding company like GroupM changed?
As you know the need for the business today is huge investment in technology. You must have heard this in Christian Juhl’s (global CEO GroupM) earlier interview where he talks about us being almost a software company. There is a lot more inclusion of technology to solve marketing problems.
The role of GroupM has also changed vis-à-vis the agencies. We still want to have multiple agencies within the group. Because a lot of the client’s comfort and choice about who to work with depends on the people, the culture, etc. So the idea is always to give marketers the choice on what they see as their best fit.
Eventually, everyone does the same thing but they do it in different ways. The people, the relationship, the culture and the match matters, because this is a people’s business. But to create the technology, to do solutions on scale, to build a single spine of customer data all these are the things we do at Group M and then we give it to the agencies that can customize it for every single client the way they want it.
Yes, the role is changing and increasingly even more. Therefore, for GroupM, given our scale, the role is ‘how do we influence the market’. In Juhl’s interview, you would have seen how it is about giving the organization a sense of purpose, there is a lot that is not right out there and how do we make advertising work better for people. What are the things that we need to do to make it work better? There are issues with data privacy, brand safety, there are issues with equity and diversity in the marketplace. If we let the free market prevail, then the money will flow into a couple of platforms. But different PoVs on media, and different content that is created needs to prevail. That is why you need a just and equitable market place and market power to ensure that it happens. And similarly sustainability. The world is going in a pattern that we don’t want for future generations. We are all working to make our businesses sustainable and the media supply chain in itself is a source of carbon emission.
And you do have a Media Decarbonization Programme. How does that work?
We have created a carbon calculator, we are working with a third party — EY to audit it. And make sure all the validity checks are there. This is something that can be adopted widely because it is as close to accurate as possible. The idea is not to keep it as proprietary to GroupM, but to release it to the market as a tool to wider adoption by everyone. The moment you start measuring what you are doing, you become conscious and start to take initiatives which are a part of that media supply chain to do something to reduce it. Which is why we say ‘the journey begins here’. We are working with the WFA and various industry bodies and we are giving it to anyone that wants it. Our people, brand managers, competing media groups, so that everyone can access.
So many world events have converged to create so much uncertainty. What is the outlook for the coming days?
All of it has an impact on the outlook. For example, the Russia-Ukraine war definitely has an inflationary impact on the world. But for everything that is slowing down there are 10 other things which are adding to the market. If I look at it as a collective whole, my outlook still remains robust with double digit growth.
But will media spending take a hit?
Media spends will take a hit from the established players because they will all want to protect their P&L in the short run. But there are many new players coming in who will nullify the impact of some of this at a macro-level. Individual companies will face up and down.
Your expectations from the India market?
It is similar. There will be inflationary pressure, but at the same time there is so much money floating around in India fueling new businesses and there is strong demand coming from there. There is growing complexity, shift to digital platforms and shift to digital businesses from traditional businesses. All these are very powerful factors. GDP on a per capita basis is rising and ad spend is a part of that. Today, India is going through that phase that China was going through from 2000-2010, which is a huge influx of money in creating platform businesses, domestic brands going global or within India wanting to increase their domestic footprint. You will see a lot of consumer brands getting created and this will continue to grow very fast.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
3 Mins Read
Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter
Storyboard18 | Ad Safari: HUL, Slice, Nanhi Kali, Ageas, Spaces
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Join Storyboard18’s Ad Safari, where our guide Prathap Suthan from adland picks out unskippable ads.
Pat On Your Back
The extra colourful Holi month went off like a snowflake in a sandstorm. Not many brands invested much into what’s undoubtedly the world’s most colourful day. The ones that did, hardly threw a stone into the lake. Plops, yes. Ripples, no. I suppose the times weren’t all that fecund. Well, the earth will orbit. The day will come back. For my 5th review, I have looked at the two extremes of our industry’s produce. The work that makes you thrilled to be in this business, and the work that makes you want to recalibrate your intelligence.
Bin Boy
If you haven’t seen this yet, watch it now. This review can wait. It’s the simplicity and the uniqueness of this thought that makes it work so beautifully. The double-take on the line is painfully brilliant. It’s so correct that one could even doubt if the script was born from that line.
I really wish this film was shared far more on our social media, instead of our timelines getting hijacked by people with a fealty towards the mediocre. From an awards angle, this is a true contender. Both in terms of creativity and communication. Somehow, our best work seems to be reserved for the social sector
Nanhi Kali
This commercial rides on the familiarity of cliches – loaded up like a buffalo, goes on like an ox, saddled up like a donkey, works like a dog, etc., to deliver its message. And telling the story from a buffalo’s perspective gives it burrs to cling to your conscience, and violins to get lumps into your throat. Using the same name for the girl and buffalo was a masterstroke. With the earthy voice of Ila Arun to make the choke factory work overtime. Hopefully wallets will open quickly to donate faster.
While this only speaks about the little girls who get loaded with domestic chores, this is true for boys as well. You’d see them plucked away from their homes, toiling away in our neighbourhoods. Genies who sacrifice their childhood to magically appear at our doorstep with a midnight pack of cigarettes or a thirsty can of soda. How many of us even notice them, or their shattering dreams?
Slice Credit Card
I may not be 18 or thereabouts, but this ad totally wigged me out. The execution was above par, but it was 20 seconds of bizarre. Overall, I understand that now is a bad time to be a slow walrus, and a great time to be a wabbit. More or less.
Small question. The hare eternally carries the foolish history of getting beaten by the tortoise. Why was that baggage ignored? Even millennials and Gen Z would know that from kindergarten. Bigger question. Why is the speed advantage helping the person behind the counter, and not the customer? I mean why do I need a card that helps the salesperson work faster? A queue is a queue. This card won’t get me ahead of the queue. Will I be a loser if my transaction is only a nanosecond slower? I am not competing in the Olympics of Card Transactions. Goodness. I could be wrong. But as a layman with some advertising experience, the consumer benefit eludes me. Including the young rabbits at my agency.
Spaces Mattress
I wonder how many men can truly say that they are the reigning royalty inside the empire of their bedroom. Especially when it comes to choosing colours, furnishing, beds, and the all-important mattress. Sure, some men might be allowed to have a meek point of view, but the lady of the house takes the final call. Peace in the bedroom is an aphrodisiac without parallel.
Therefore, if it’s the woman who will queen over aesthetic matters, why would any brand visualize her as a wolf? Open to interpretations that’d invite the vile sides of the canine analogy. I have heard of brands committing hara-kiri, but this one takes all the cakes India can bake. No questions. I could have given this venal film a viral berth if it was designed to tickle the fetish bone, and sold for use in smoky dungeons, but this is pretty mainstream. Gosh.
Young Sachin
There have been brands that have indulged in time travel. Usually to showcase the younger or older avatars. Though many have been disasters. While making someone look older ought to be easier, making someone younger will be tougher. Because the celeb’s current body and age will get in the way. He/she could be a lot less frisky. Now imagine getting a person back into teenage. Deducting weight, height, years, and even voice.
Of course, there’s the option of casting someone else younger. But this particular commercial from Ageas Federal Life Insurance featuring a young 11 year old Sachin changes everything. It’s a landmark moment. I don’t think too many people have seen this. Or appreciated the use of either a lookalike or technology that created this. I’d like to see this as an opening of a door that didn’t have a key. Beautifully done.
The author Prathap Suthan is co-founder and CCO at Bang In The Middle. Views expressed are personal.
Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout
3 Mins Read
Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter
Storyboard18 | Ad Agencies in Web 3.0: Get crackin!
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Kunel Gaur, the founder of Animal, says it feels a lot like the nineties all over again, with that same rare chance and yet again, the tools to build the future at your fingertips. But it’s not going to make itself.
The year is 2032. You’re sitting with friends at a limited release RTFKT x Starbucks pod-cafe, sipping your morning cup of latte when a cute-looking Sorayama robot walks over and asks you whether you’d like to try out their latest Huckleberry latte sundaes when they launch next week.
You wave over it and it’s added to your wallet. Just then, your girlfriend arrives at the table and you make room for her by pulling out a Murakami chair from your vault. It is made up of 6000 Wild Chrysanthemums that are timed to glow and change color every 33 seconds, in a loop-cycle of 7 years.
The music is subversive with a touch of blues served by a Bored Ape on the DJ console. Hours pass, and it’s time to be home. You bid your adieus and log off. You remove the Magic Leap you were wearing and realize it’s 10 am, in the real world.
Feels a lot like the nineties
With all that we hear and read about the phenomenon called Web 3.0 today, it’s possible to imagine a future in a way that is not as disjointed from our picture of it 5 years back as we thought it to be.
It feels a lot like the nineties all over again, with that same rare chance and yet again, the tools to build the future at your fingertips. But it’s not going to make itself. Creators, collectors, DeFi aficionados, savvy brands, digital-forward agencies, tech bros, crypto punks, bored apes, and Sers – it’s going to take all of us to work together to realize this wonderful dream that some of us were too naive to even see coming.
But unlike its predecessors, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, which were primarily focused on the accumulation of wealth by the select few at the expense of its consumers – Web 3.0 takes some 101’s of its own.
And so, having spent 20 years as a creator, I have seen the three dimensions of the creator economy first hand and would like to add my two about how digitally active agencies can leverage and make the most out of the future of the internet.
The plan of action
One of the many ways Web 3.0 differs is the ownership of the internet. It is being built by everyone, and for everyone. But how does this ownership work? Built on the blockchain (a public ledger that is maintained automatically on a programmable network of computers around the world), Web 3.0 gives its users the ability to own digital assets that are tied to a smart contract, which simply put, is a unique, digital proof of ownership of a particular asset.
This unique nature of the ownership is why these assets are also called “Non-Fungible” Tokens or NFTs. And these NFTs can be anything – a piece of art, digital wearables, and avatars, a soundtrack, online event passes, gaming assets, or even a piece of virtual land. These can be owned and utilized digitally across different platforms from a single key, which is your personal wallet.
Brands and creators around the world are working together to come up with innovative ideas about leveraging the NFTs. With each wanting to replicate, or one-up the success of individual artists like Beeple, collectives like BAYC and Crypto Punks, and early-stage startups like RTFKT, which was acquired by none other than Nike, just last month.
Each of these wonderful folks has a community of people following them, clout that works as leverage that then powers a constant exchange of benefits from both sides, for the long run. It’s also often called a “roadmap”. It’s just like pitching a roadmap to your investors, except they’re really into you.
This long-drawn-out roadmap of constant exchange of ideas and dialogue with your brand’s own community happens at a price, yes, but because blockchain in itself is a level-playing field, big brands, small brands, startups, and individuals are all equals. And the most innovative idea wins. Which is where agencies come in. And the plan of action can include (and not limit to):
Roadmap: Prepare a plan for the brand and not a campaign. Brand love > Anything else.
Converse: The biggest benefit to brands in this space is the absence of algorithms. Curate a community on Discord. Or if your brand has the capital, build a social network of your own, where you can reach 100 percent of your audience organically, and anytime of the day. Keeping that in mind, think of the core target audience of the brand and start there. Your biggest fans. Include them in your conversations, and let them truly own the brand. They have always wanted to anyway.
Agency stack: Power up on the right kind of people. The creative community is full of enthusiastic folks with wonderful ideas. Bring creatives and developers under one roof, give them free rein and watch the fireworks.
Give back: Gratify participation. Encourage brands to reward their biggest fans. If Web 1.0 was about image banks, and Web 2.0 about stock, can Web 3.0 be about fans collecting brand assets that they can then monetise if they wanted to? In this new age the consumers, for the first time ever, will have more to gain than the brands – and that is totally ok in the long run. There are more than enough metaverses for all of us, and then some.
Educate: Innovation is our bread and butter. And we have been trying our best to convince our clients to look at it as theirs too. But if there’s ever a time to prove that lack of innovation can kill a brand, it is now. Present successful case studies to your clients, show them some projected data, or better still create a roadmap keeping the brand and their customers’ best interests in mind and take them through it. “This is the way”.
Build a product: As an agency, we’re built to provide services for a set scope of work basis brief and agreed-upon deliverables. The time has come to build the next best thing to that, a product. If you’re going to try to convince a brand to build a social network, you’d better have the will and capability to do so yourself.
We’re seeing dawn of something beyond our comprehension at this stage. And brand/agency partnerships that bring value and resources to the fore, will, in my opinion, open new dimensions for themselves in the future and beyond.
Kunel Gaur, founder, and creative director, Animal. Gaur is also a creator who is gearing up for a second solo show in February, a collector of works by artists like Daniel Arsham, KAWS, Ai Wei Wei, Faile, RTFKT, Tristan Eaton and Shepard Fairey amongst others, and a curator whose initiatives have traveled to London Design Festival, Jerusalem Design Week & TEDx. Views expressed are personal.
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