Calling India all -rounders

How commercial is your social

Divine Opportunity towards Brand Connect

Tradition and relationships have played a big role in Indian families, which marketers are using to their benefit to connect with consumers

Childhood memories are etched with family and friend during festivals celebrating the event which most often was some religious do or the other. Looking back I realize the importance of these events for not just religious and spiritual aspects, but the way it brought us all together, the bonhomie and the fun that we had on the pretext of a Dushhera or Teej. Festivals are important to Indians, be it religious such as Diwali, Eid or Christmas or cultural, such as Rakhi or even Valentine’s Day and more. Festivals are important to us because we enjoy celebrating these events which makes us forget our regional and religious differences when sharing traditions and values that makes us all come together and bask in the festivities.

From a time when one lived in a joint family, in colonies where everyone knew everyone else, festivals meant a platform for everyone to congregate, exchange wishes, seek blessings, celebrate with sweets and traditional culinary unique to each event. With nuclear families more the reality now there is also a cultural change amongst a generation that no more necessarily lives in their home towns or states which have distinct identities based on festivals and traditions. Traditional festivals have only spread geographically and it is common to come across Ganapati Puja in Gurgaon as much as it is in say Pune. And with marriages no more being the norm within the same religion or communities, festivals have taken a different meaning with more people discovering traditional festivals.

Celebrations is the root of all festivals and it is to do with the festival itself, say Eid which culminates after 30 days of fasting or Dushera which culminates with good ending the evil, are all valid cause to rejoice and have a good time. All this has led people to spend during festivals, to the extent that many will save through the year only to spend during the festivals. There are many who I come across, will buy jewelry and gold when it is Akshay Trithiya or during Dhanteras. No festival goes without new clothes and some festivals are linked to auspicious big ticket spends such as cars after the navratras or a house. Its almost like an official guilt free sanction to spend money.

Marketers have been quick to realize not just the spending potential of people, but also the business prospects that festivals bring. In fact, the way Archies created cards for every known and not so known occasions, marketers have focused brand communication around festivals. Marketers have realized the value of festivals and see benefits in targeting consumers during festivals because many of these festivals revolve around families; take for instance, the Cabury advertisement that was on air just before rakhi, it imbibed family traditions, yet was contemporary enough to subtly substitute chocolates with sweets for the occasion. The brand managed it’s connect because brands get into people’s lives as they celebrate something close to their hearts. Besides, in a festive mood, people are much more receptive to messages that reflect the emotional aspects of family ties and bonds.

While many marketers continue to offer discounts and exchange offers round festivals, the smart ones have gone beyond the transaction driven promotion and are working hard to build strong brand associations that last a lifetime. They target every member in the family from kids to grandparents and some brands realise the impact of touching the chord by associating with community festivals that provides them with the right target audience. Activities centred on the congregation sites like Diwali melas, Garbha mandals and Ganesh and Durga Puja pandals are the flavour of the season among marketers. Banners and hoardings at pandals and stalls and are initiatives that help brands build a direct emotional rapport with their consumers, which may be a lot better than using conventional branding and advertising medium. The advertising if one notices has one common theme; involve every member of the family.

The next few months are festive season for marketers, including us in the insurance business because some of the festivals consider financial exchange as auspicious and tradition. I don’t mean the card parties that many people enjoy during Diwali, but buying a new car, or a home and making new investments are all part of the Dushera-Diwali-Muhurat trading season. For us the association with festivals, especially community festivals helps immensely; for instance a stall during Durga Puja that attracted many young couples because it offered them counsel on their personal finances and they were the right target to achieve branding and sales. For a brand such as ours, it is crucial to bond with our target audience; it remains etched in their memories and connects well.

In the past insurance advertising always tended to be morbid, but with time people have realized the benefits of focusing on the various occasions when the family is together and the importance of life. You find, communication is more to do with the role of the financial product during one’s lifetime than after it these days. Family values during festivals form a great opportunity for us to stress the importance of insurance.

As long as festivals are there, marketers will use every opportunity to tap into the emotional chord of Indians to emphasise the virtues of their products and services.

Make the Right Choice

Life insurance policies serve various objectives; they are flexible and can be mould as per ones need and convenience to suite multiple requirements; know when term plans work and when to look for savings linked plans

Someone rightly said choices are the hinges of destiny; and making a choice is not an easy task, especially when it amounts to selecting from the best available options. Mention life insurance and images of protection, savings, investment, and pension, besides tax savings conjure. Life insurance is a very important and flexible financial instrument which helps us protect the financial future of our dependents and at the same time save and invest for our own future needs. The first rule of life insurance is to definitely take a policy when one has financial dependents, and all types of life insurance policies provide for death cover.

The various types of life insurance policies available make policy selection to address protection needs alone or savings a daunting task. Moreover, there are policies that exist to address the different financial risks that one is exposed to in life during different stages in life. All this makes the case for one to have an insurance portfolio that addresses different needs at different times. For instance, a single person most often has no financial dependents and has little financial risks compared to a married man with children or a couple with financially dependent parents. Likewise someone in their 50s having taken care of their financial commitments will be looking forward to their life in retirement and little insurance cover.

There is a kind of life insurance policy that focuses only on covering financial risk, protecting one’s financial dependents in case of contingencies. Term insurance is low cost, high value insurance wherein one is insured only against the risk of death and facilitates one to be always adequately insured. Term plans are also useful when anyone takes on additional financial liabilities such as a loan to fund a house for a long period of time. In such circumstances, the term plan acts as a hedge against life’s uncertainties providing insurance cover equivalent to the loan amount and not impact the insured’s dependents were he to die during the loan repayment. Youngsters and those with high insurance needs should always look at term plans in their insurance portfolios. Whole life policies are another variant which provides an opportunity for risk cover through out ones life as well as help in building cash value as a legacy.

There are also insurance plans that address savings and growth by going beyond the death cover which aids the insured achieve their financial goals. Return-linked plans have a savings component besides protection, which is of great value to the policyholder in the long run. For example, return-linked policies are of immense help to achieve long-term financial goals such as the higher education needs of children which are 15-18 years away or building a retirement corpus which is 25-30 years away. In return-linked plans one makes periodic premium payments over several years which benefit from averaging, gain from the power of compounding and ride over various market cycles making them an ideal tool for long-term wealth creation. Such policies also offer choice of investments across equity and debt enabling the policyholder to match the savings plan that best meets his risk profile.

We live in an era of extreme unpredictability coupled with changing lifestyle owing to economic growth. Such development makes insurance needs dynamic and one should review and re-assess one’s insurance needs every time there is a significant change in lifestyle and finances. Doing so will ensure that one can maintain the same standard of living in the future and also ensure that dependents do not have to make any financial compromises in the future. It is in this context that the flexibility offered by insurance policies addresses the need for only risk cover as well as returns for every stage in life.

The ABC of Branding

To understand the importance of branding imagine the possible scenario of a shop shelf with similar looking or faceless packs. Cars on the road with no marquee or the names proudly displayed. People do use a particular category to make a statement i.e a flat tv is more preferable than a normal tv and a plasma tv is more premium than a flat tv. But a Sony makes a statement which is different than a Weston.
Turning a product in to a brand require incremental efforts. This incremental effort is worth the effort because it is the brand that adds significant value when it is well recognized and evokes positive associations in the minds of the consumer, besides of course commanding additional price premium.
A brand is inextricably woven into consumer's daily life and routine and that’s why it should be easy to comprehend and stand for something simple; one thing. But how does a brand develop this consistent, repeatable positive association with the consumer? What is it that prompts customers to buy different products from the same brand? It is because brands create values and associations which are much above the product category. The most common example of a brand that transcends categories is TATA. Is there any product or service that this brand cannot venture into?
The process of creating enduring brands can be as simple as ABC by including three simple principles in your brand strategy.

Make your brand AUTHENTIC:
The measure of a successful brand so often depends on whether it comes across as honest and genuine in the eyes of the consumer. Overloaded by sales pitches, consumers toady are gravitating toward brands that they sense are true and genuine.
In an increasingly glitzy world of spun messages and manipulated experiences -where nearly everything we encounter is created to drive consumption - elevating a brand above the fray requires genuine creativity and discipline.
Hunger for the authentic is all around us. You can see it in the way millions are drawn to mission-driven products like Khadi. Fab India ‘s success emantes from here.
Authenticity is becoming an increasingly important point of leverage for brands that recognise and moreover respect their stakeholders. To maintain its integrity, a brand must remain true to its values. And yet, to be relevant - or cool - a brand must be as dynamic as change itself. An authentic brand reconciles those two conflicting impulses, finding ways to be original within the context of its history. At a human level, Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi are examples where authenticity, honesty and integrity merge.
But we know lots of brands can look authentic, and not be. Their identities are created to intentionally portray authenticity, while not being truthful at all. And then there are the brands where authenticity is at the core of their existence. Amul & TATA are two great examples as both brands command respect due to their heritage and history of authentic product delivery, yet always come across as contemporary by remaining relevant.

Make your brand promise B ELIEVABLE:
The goal of any brand positioning exercise is to develop a unique, compelling and believable brand promise.
Believable brand positioning is based on compelling truths or pillars. The most respected brands are those that live their values and not just promote them.
Hyperbole has a legitimate place in the world of advertising but not all hyperbolism fares equally well. How often have we seen superlative claims that exaggerate to a point of absurdity - World’s most comfortable shoe brand used by 9 out of 10 film stars, etc. You are left wondering at the audacity and bravado of the claim. So even if the product is genuinely good, you tend to write it off as the claim is impossible to believe and relate to. So to make the brand believable, it is important that the story the brand tells through its action always aligns with the story it tells through its communication.
Financial brands have been viewed with suspicion due to the economic environment; however Max New York Life hasn’t had any believability issues. This is not because it has done anything unique, but because of the way it has behaved, functioned and interacted with it’s customers.

Drive CREATIVITY in Brands:
Everyone talks about creativity and its crucial role in enabling brands to grow and achieve success. But how can we make it happen? The trick is to make your brand interesting and exciting by doing little things all the time.
In the world of creativity, consumers control the dialogue; not the brand. This understanding simply implies that influencing consumers requires a new way of thinking. We need to get inside the consumer’s mind, understand their lives and identify the moments they will connect with various brands’ messages. Take Apple, for example. Apple simply motivates us to creativity. The company has attempted, since its inception days when it was Apple Computer, to foster a strong brand identity that’s associated with an image of creativity and now not only do consumers consider Apple creative, but the subliminal display of an Apple logo is enough to motivate them to be more creative.
Creativity creates attention for the brand. Attention is influenced by an element of surprise. It forges deeper connection and newer perspectives. When Richard Branson gets on an elephant, he understands that the media does not get too many interesting opportunities like this. In a more subtle manner, he has creatively attracted attention and excitement to add to the brand quotient of Virgin Atlantic.
A creative approach can provide an added reason to buy on top of an incentive. Most importantly, effective creativity persuades with increased conviction. It helps you get a breakthrough insight and creates a BIG IDEA.

Power Women

Q. As a woman boss, what has been your learning curve vis-a-vis managing a team?
A. I believe any leadership position comes with its own set of challenges that are not just restricted to gender. As a leader it is important to listen to your team and have a democratic approach, to believe on your instinct and leverage your gut feel. You need to trust and respect your team for them to reciprocate the same. I have learned to be more collaborative and to nurture relationships within and outside the company by understanding the person’s requirements and proactively providing solutions.

Q. Do you believe that you really need to work harder than your team in order to remain ahead and lead successfully?
A. Yes. But this is not just because I am a woman. Leading by example is the best form of motivation. I want my team and employees to work hard and explore their abilities to the utmost extent. I need to be a role model for them to do the same, showing them the way so that I can build a trustful and loyal relationship with them.

Q. Do you give enough leeway to your team members so that they can weave in their personal responsibilities into their professional lives (holidays, flexi-hours, perks, medical facilities)?
A. I believe in driving personal ownership in the team. I am myself a mother, a wife as well as a consummate professional and understand the importance of family. In addition, I also understand that for any organization to be successful it is essential for the employees to feel cared for. Therefore, I try o give ample space to my team and trust them to balance both their personal and professional life with great aplomb.

Q. What do you feel are the important qualifications that you need to have in the profession?
A. To look at the overall strategic picture and think long-term
B. Being a Team player, stand by with your team and trust them to do their jobs.

Q. Being the marketing director of one of India's most sought-after insurance company, what are the landmark developments and achievements that you have been able to bring on board at Max New York Life Insurance?
I joined Max New York Life Insurance in 2007. In these five years the growth in the life insurance market has been manifold. Under my leadership MNYL has become synonymous with child life insurance. We have adopted a 360-degree marketing approach to drive the brand campaign through product launches.
We have used extensive customer insights and launched the igenius initiative. Igenius is an unique parent-child program that promotes all-round child development. This initiative is now in its second year and has already 1 lak members on Facebook.
Apart from that, products such as Max New York Life Shiksha Plus II and Max New York Life College Plan were launched to provide resources for all round development for children under all uncertain circumstances.
Today, MNYL’s brand awareness score is on an all time high of 98% as of March 2011 as compared to 89% in March 2010 placing the brand at No. 4 rank amongst all private players. This was a result of creative TV Commercials, efficient media planning, public relations initiatives which focused on key industry issues and the launch of an innovative consumer engagement platform - igenius.

Q. Do companies with women in the leadership position perform better?
An organization does not function as a social structure. A man in a leadership position has to prove himself equally as a woman. He too has to deliver. In my opinion, companies perform better when they have a clear-sighted, visionary, democratic and nurturing leader. Gender really does not matter.

Q. How do developing nations perceive women entrepreneurs/leaders?
We had Mrs Indira Gandhi as India’s Prime Minister, even when our country was termed as a ‘third-world country’. Even Sri Lanka had a woman President long before any Western country had a woman leader. So even though the West thinks that women have better opportunities, I do not completely agree to it.
However, the countries have had very less women working in the corporate arena. And they are letting go of old stereotypes. Now companies are working out strategies not only to incorporate women employees in the work force but into the boardroom as well. Other strategies include flexible working arrangements and child care policies. But there is still a lot that needs to be done.
But developing countries should not only look at the top order in the ladder. Affirmative actions in areas of women harassments in workplace should be one of the major agendas in these countries.

Q. The glass ceiling: Does it still exist?
Yes, it does but it is gradually developing cracks. The real issue is societal. Until society catches up with the advances that have taken place within companies, women have to contend with discrimination. This only increases our determination and as more and more women take up leadership positions, they would help pave way for the younger generation and the ceiling would be broken automatically.

Q. Are women CEOs/CMOs better managers? Does gender define leadership skills? As I have commented earlier, gender does not define good leadership skills. It might make a difference in terms of leadership styles.
Having said that, I do think there are some skills that a women leader brings to the table, such as:-
1. Emotional connect – Women are generally better in understanding and connecting with the softer aspects of professionalism. We read faces and undertones better where men miss the subtlety.
2. We are more collaborative in our approach which makes us great team players.
3. Our ability to balance work and personal life makes sure that we do not go overboard with anything.
4. Women are more intuitive and hence pre-empt a lot of issues.

Q. What is your leadership style? What are the factors that attribute to your success?
A. I have no particular style of functioning. I believe, that a good leader creates followers but a great leader is instrumental in creating more leaders. We need to hand over the baton of our learnings to our team members so that they can be shaped into future leaders.

Q. What are the values which influence the leadership process?
A. The values of personal integrity, hard work, perseverance, and discipline are universal and always influence the leadership process.

Q. What are the challenges associated with leading effectively in a highly competitive market?
A. Well more than challenges, I personally would like to call them learnings. Every player is present because they are good, so we need to be creative, innovative and constantly striving to do our best and stand out from the clutter.

Q. How do you deal with success and failure? Which one teaches you the most?
A. Failure is unavoidable for anyone. But I treat it as a stepping stone to success. And when I am successful – I am humbled. It makes me more determined.

Q.What are her views on:1. Passion and Commitment to work (includes hard work put in, the right spirit when facing hurdles, persistence)
A. Are absolutely necessary for a successful professional. These values make a great leader stand out among the good ones.
2. Target setting
A. Every new challenge needs specific targets whether long-term or short. Well defined goals lead to well managed outputs.
3. Vision and leadership
A. Leadership vision should substantiate change in the organization. One needs to pursue their goal with passion and commitment and inspire your colleagues and customers as well.
4. Multi-tasking
A. In the present times it is as essential as breathing. This is one of the traits which all women usually possess as they are always multitasking between their professional and personal life.
5. Conflict management (this would include issues of circumventing biases, dealing with opposition to getting promoted, lack of co-operation from colleagues you supersede).
A. Conflicts are inevitable. It is best to deal with them as soon as they crop up. I believe in trusting my team and people so that they can come to me with their troubles and we can achieve proper resolution in an open and transparent manner.

Business Today coverage on BT Most Powerful Women - The Other 25

Anisha Motwani, Director and Chief Marketing Officer, Max New York Life InsuranceAnisha Motwani was responsible for several memorable and effective advertising campaigns in her 19-year career. She has worked with agencies such as Leo Burnett, Mudra Communications and McCann Erickson.Bala Deshpande, Senior MD, New Enterprise AssociatesIn 2008, Bala Deshpande left ICICI Venture to join New Enterprise Associates, or NEA, a US-based venture capital fund. A Masters in Economics and an MBA, she has worked with FMCG companies such as Bestfoods and Cadburys. NEA, which had raised a $2.5-billion global fund in January 2010, plans to allocate 15 per cent of it to investments in India.

START EARLY, RETIRE RICH

START EARLY, RETIRE RICH
Those of us who still have many years to go before retiring tend to think of retirement in terms of fuzzy clichés like tending to the roses, long walks by the sea, playing golf on weekdays, pottering around the house and so on. But those staring retirement in the face invariably think of grimmer things like steep medical costs, shriveling income stream, taxes, inflation and the rising cost of living, and of whether their savings can meet all these expenses. When it comes to planning retirement, the bottom line is this: you either are in saving mode or you are in spending mode.The pre-retirement phase of life includes many financial responsibilities and goals such as building a house or providing for children’s education, besides planning your own retirement. Yet, many of us remember retirement just a few years ahead of the ‘R-day’. Arriving at how much retirement savings you should have is a tough one, but one can fairly estimate one’s needs depending on the lifestyle one maintains in retirement. It will help to prepare a budget which lists what you spend on necessities so that you know how much your monthly or annual expenditure will be in the future. Account for inflation keeping a rough estimate of 7-8 per cent inflation every year. Also, consider expenses that are bound to increase, such as medical and transport expenses. Then again, calculate the expenses that may cease to exist, such as your children’s education or repayment on a home loan.The accumulation phase, where you can save and invest for your golden years can start anytime from the day you start earning and while there are many ways that one can save; life insurance is a component that plays an important role. It is a protection tool that safeguards the interest of your financial dependents in case you die; it also helps you build a cosy retirement egg which you can utilise in your own retirement. Of course, if you start at a late age you will have to increase your savings substantially and even cut down on any superfluous expenses. Starting early will help you benefit through the power of compounding, that is, you have more time for your money to grow.The advantage with life insurance is that it instills regular savings habit which is systematic with regular payments towards premiums and offers tax benefits on savings as well as withdrawal on maturity. There is also professional money management that insurance products offer, which is far better than handling it ourselves. As you approach retirement, you need to assess how long your savings can last in retirement and lead your retired life. With increasing life expectancy we are facing a situation where our years in retirement can be as long as or more than our working years depending on when one retires.Reality is that once retirement is reached, the saving period is over. The balancing act at this point is between the desire to enjoy retirement and the fear of running out of money prematurely. The way the retirement life insurance plans are structured; you get a tax free lump sum to withdraw from your accumulated savings with the balance paid as a monthly annuity acting as a regular income stream. But there are ways to supplement this income stream; one can consider working beyond retirement which could be part time or in the immediate future make illiquid assets pay better.Research indicates majority of Indians owning a house much before they retire, the reverse mortgage facility makes the house that one owns pay a regular income stream for a fixed number of years or trough the life of the house owner. One can tactfully opt for an insurance policy in retirement which will swap the value of the house on the reverse mortgage option on the insured’s death, with the house ownership being bequeathed to the insured’s family. This way not only can one earn income from one’s house; one can also pass the house to the next generation. At the end of the day, retirement is a journey and what matters is that you get to your destination with a clear road map and make sure you enjoy the journey.

FUNtastic lessons from Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara

FUNtastic lessons from Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara

The racing bulls are running full-tilt on the streets of Pamplona, scattering all-comers under horn and hoof. As they round the home stretch, we meet Abhay Deol, flying around the corner, head held high, eyes twinkling, and a ghost of a smile on his lips. Likewise, Farhan Akhtar and Hrithik Roshan also crank up the gears and, face-forward, race towards the gates.

This final sequence of the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara (ZNMD) is probably one of the best metaphors for how life—personal or professional—can be lived successfully.

So what’s that all-important metaphor? It’s not that they’re running fast, and are in the right physical shape to do so. Yes, that’s important. But the key is that they are looking forward. Yes, the demons from past mistakes are always behind you. But future holds that success, the achievement that you are constantly aspiring for. So focus everything, confidently and joyously, on that prospective goal. Then the past will hold no importance, nor fear.

ZNMD has many such lessons, especially for the corporate world, if one wishes to imbibe them. One can say with quite a lot of certainty that this was definitely not Zoya Akhtar’s aim when she made this wholly entertaining movie, to reduce it training material for a corporate workshop. But we are all richer for the material it provides us, as reminders for a better way of life, professionally.

Let’s take the issue of coping with fear and anxiety for instance. We face this at all levels. And a lot of times, this is our biggest enemy in meeting our goals. Each of the three protagonists in ZNMD take turns in vehemently professing their fears—of deep-sea diving, of sky-diving, and running with the bulls. And yet, the strategy they use to overcome the fears is one we would do well to inculcate into the corporate world. (1) Acknowledge and announce the fear to those around you. (2) Give yourself no choice but to overcome it. (3) Enjoy the life-changing perspective that follows afterwards. A crucial part of the strategy is to have people around you who understand your fear, and are there in helping you overcome it, rather than ridiculing you for it or taking advantage of your fear to their own benefit. Trust and teamwork, therefore, become paramount.

ZNMD also reminds us that we’re often stuck in the past or mindlessly pursuing a distant future. In the process, we ignore the immense possibilities of the here and now. There’s a sequence after the Tomatina Festival when our heroes have left Buñol (Valencia) and are motoring along towards Pamplona (or Seville?). Katrina Kaif chases them down on a bike, just to tell Hrithik Roshan, “Mujhe afsos karna nahi aata / I don’t know how to regret.” For Hrithik, it’s a double whammy when Katrina tells him at another point in the movie, “Yes, but what if you don’t live to see 40? Live now, live for now.” It’s a turning point in self-discovery and mindfulness for Hrithik. And a reminder to us in the corporate world—that goals are good, and history can be a good teacher. But what matters is how we tackle each day, and make the most of it. When we passionately immerse ourselves in what we do today, productivity and success take care of themselves. And we enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

There is also a metamorphosis in the characters of the three protagonists as ZNMD progresses. Farhan Akhtar acknowledges the angst beneath his frivolity, and ultimately overcomes it. Abhay Deol confronts a forced circumstantial choice and reverses it. And Hrithik Roshan comes face to face with the near-farcical chase his life has become, and turns over a new leaf. In doing so, they all ably demonstrate—in different ways—the inevitability of change, and the innate ability to transform that each of us possesses. We always acknowledge that change is a constant, and yet are afraid to transform—ourselves, our circumstances, those around us, and our decisions. And yet, true progress and success lie in just that. In going beyond the comfort zone of familiarity. In recognizing what constrains us, and moving beyond them. To recall another powerful line from an altogether different movie, “It doesn’t matter that we fall. What matters is that we get up again.” (From “Batman Begins,” if you must know the movie name.)

When it comes to that, perhaps the lesson of freeing ourselves from constraints is the one we can most easily take out of ZNMD. The world offers us a plethora of options to shake off our everyday shackles, and experience real, intrinsic freedom. We don’t need to dive among the sea urchins, draw figures of eight in the sky or have near-death experiences among bovine companions. But we can still find ways to be creative, and inspire ourselves on a daily basis. With music. With games. With not being slaves to habit. With just this singular perspective, that we have this one life to make the most of. Let’s go seize it.

ET Clip - My Favorites

Movies

• Casablanca – Classic love triangle set against the backdrop of wartime conflict. It’s a potboiler with everything going for it - superb musical score, suspense, unforgettable characters and extremely memorable dialogues. It showcases all emotions beautifully of lost love, war, duty and sacrifice.

• Hangover – it’s a mindless laugh riot that is completely over the top. Its funny line for line and plays out like a mystery of crazy incidents. You cant wait for the next scene to unfold.

• Life is Beautiful – It’s a movie that touches your heart and moves you. Life is beautiful is truly beautiful. It’s a poignant story of life and love set against the backdrop of world war II. It’s a movie with a moral that tells you that “He who laughs last laughs best”.

• Dabangg – This is what I call “Full on” entertainment with the desi Robinhood in full creation with mind blowing music and masti – Total Paisa Vasool.

• Mughla e Azam – A classic love story told in the mist lavish manner. This is one of the biggest box office hits in Indian cinema. The film broke box office records in India when released and held the record for the highest grossing film ever

Books

• Kane & Able by Jeffrey Archer – A marvelous story spanning 60 years. This brings alive multiple emotions in the struggle to build fortunes.

• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini – It’s a beautiful story set against the volatile history of Afghanistan that brought out the role of educations in women’s lives.

• Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini – Ita a story of two friends from different socio – economic backdrop but forge a deep bond that transcends politics, war and economics.

• The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – An extraordinary trilogy that I have read twice and both the times enjoyed it as much. A wacky adventurous story that literally takes you to the end of the world.

• Many Lives Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss – This book on past life therapy has truly given a new meaning to my life. The teachings of the masters spirit have a message for all of us and our body is just a vehicle for us while we are here.

Music

• Tere Ishq Ne Nachaya by Abida Parveen - Abida Parveen sings love songs and induces spiritual estacy with her megistic voice.

• Teri Deewani by Kailash Kher from the album Kailaasa – Kailash Kher has an earthy rustic voice that emanates straight from the belly to the listeners heart.

• Mustt Mustt Album by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – I adore Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his music. All his Qawwalis are a benchmark as far the devotional sufi music is con cerned.

• Tere Mast Mast Do Nain by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan – infact I enjoy most of Rahat’s songs. He has a vocal mastery and all his songs have great emotional power.

• RD Burman – Album – Collection of forever songs – Right from Padosan to Amar Prem to Aa Gale Lag Jaa to Sholay – all his songs have an ever green quality and can never go out of vogue even for the next many generations.

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2011 & Beyond: Evolving rules of Consumer Engagement


We are living in dynamic times where the consumer has high awareness levels; is more conscious of his needs and is more vocal about his rights. The advent of the Internet has made ‘consumer engagement’ undergo a sea change. This in turn has changed the rules of marketing. Consumer engagement today requires brands to be in continuous touch with customers - at any moment and on any medium. You need to drive brand affinity, capture feedback, answer questions, resolve concerns, offer need based products and solutions and win referrals. Put simply, engagement marketing and customer relationship management have to be the key pillars of your organizational marketing strategy today for both potential and existing customers.

Companies need to follow a three-pronged strategy — leverage web 2.0, undertake online reputation management and establish a strong connect between CRM and Customer Service — to ensure proactive and focused consumer engagement.


Web 2.0: The game changer
While consumer engagement was prevalent even before social media appeared on the horizon, it has now acquired a whole new dimension. Brands are increasingly using social media tools to burnish their image among existing as well as potential customers.

Around 40 percent of India’s population belongs to the age group of 25-30. With Web 2.0, it has become imperative for companies to undertake intelligent and strategic social media initiatives to proactively engage a huge base of young and tech-savvy consumers. Today, social networking tools have acquired heightened importance and are being considered as communication enablers that are widely leveraged to enhance brand image and handle consumer queries and demands real-time.

The increasing penetration of social media in the present-day scenario has made it strategic for any company to have a strong web presence. The traditional practices of capturing consumer response through personal interviews, questionnaires or consumer surveys are being steadily complemented by proactive social media engagement; tracking Facebook comments, blog posts, Tweets; creating online discussion forums, etc. To enhance their online presence, organisations should evolve digital communication strategies that channelise consumer voice towards the online space. Specific web portals need to cater to specific needs of the new-age consumers who now leverage the Internet medium like never before.

Data gathered from social media engagement offer deep insights into consumer behaviour and these analytics help companies create strategic differentiators to stay ahead of the curve. All businesses, especially consumer-centric ones, require a virtual presence with a proactive social media strategy.

Innovative online engagement marketing facilitates both direct and indirect branding among an extensive population base; creates increased affinity and awareness about the brand and products; ensures buzz marketing with existing customers becoming brand ambassadors and drives lead generation for future business.


Managing brand image in the Internet age
The seminal shift from the real to the virtual world has been challenging as well as empowering. With e-commerce dissolving geographical distances, the modes of reaching out to a diverse section of global consumers have undoubtedly increased.

Consumer opinions today can make or mar a brand’s reputation. It is now very easy for a miffed consumer to express his dissatisfaction by posting a Tweet or a blog post via a smartphone. With consumers becoming omni-present, brand management in the virtual world has become a strategic imperative for businesses globally. Prompt responses to consumer queries; swift resolutions to grievances posted online; leveraging positive feedback to drive increased consumer engagement; actions on receiving consumer feedback have become important considerations for companies to represent themselves as responsible and consumer-centric entities. Companies today need mechanisms in place to monitor consumer posts online and take actions real-time. Such proactive measures help minimise the domino effect created by negative feedbacks and help win back the customer’s trust. It also helps build positive perception about the brand and translates into increased loyalty both from existing customers as well as prospects.


Leveraging CRM for effective consumer engagement
While CRM advanced the state of marketing from a monologue to a dialogue, it was still a conversation that was driven by the company, not the customer, till a few years back. However, the marketing landscape today is radically different from what it was 10 years back. Customer attention continues to become an increasingly scarce resource. Increasingly, customers have come to take control of this situation and not only participate in conversations with brands, but control that interaction as well.

To earn higher returns on relationships, companies are required to successfully meet variegated consumer requirements. Leverage CRM to analyse and understand customer needs. Personalise solutions to suit specific customer needs and preferences of the target audience is an effective way to build brand reputation and customer loyalty. Complement your customised offerings with marketing programs that appeal to individuals in specific segments. Utilize a segmented marketing approach to customer service. A personalised experience of the brand can dramatically increase the depth of engagement with your audience. Like real human relationships, engagement grows out of a close understanding of our audience. Tie Customer Relationship Management with Customer Service to create service differentiators.

The changing face of insurance marketing Over more than a decade since the category came into its own, many brands have come to spell insurance only as i-n-v-e-s-t-m-e-n-t. But for a business that’s all about mitigating life’s risks to meet life’s needs, it seems to have forgotten its own foundations in evolving, in marketing itself. Today, especially in the new regulatory environment, the most important lesson for the life insurance category is probably to go back to its basics. Sometimes it’s worth remembering that the more things change, the more they remain the same. It’s undeniably true of insurance marketing and its role in today’s changing times. Here’s how: Insurance Marketing tenet #1: Life may change, life insurance shouldn’t. From the heady, economic-high days of the early 2000s to the speed bump of 2009 and the subsequent recovery in 2010, life in India has witnessed multiple milestones from unrestrained optimism to caution to now a cautious optimism. What’s clear – and history has taught us this elsewhere many times – is that such cycles are not new, and demand that planning for security now is as important as planning for growth tomorrow. Or vice versa. It highlights the fact that insurance spells not one but three things: (1) s-a-v-i-n-g-s (2) p-r-o-t-e-c-t-i-o-n (3) i-n-v-e-s-t-m-e-n-t. It’s what customers need at all times, whether they know enough to ask for it by themselves or not. Which leads us to the next tenet. Insurance Marketing tenet #2: The more they know, the more you grow.History, a lot of times, does not repeat itself. Which is why there is a new generation of customers created almost every year that needs continuous education on how insurance enables multiple milestones in their lives. In evolving beyond their own inception stages, brands can tend to forget that just because they are a decade (or more) old, it doesn’t automatically signal that customer education is redundant. On the contrary, even older generations don’t have all the knowledge that enables them to see that insurance is a facilitator of education, sustained good health, marriage, protection after death, and every step in between. In such a scenario, and in a category that is fairly young in India, there is no legacy of knowledge that is passed on from one generation to another among customers. It becomes imperative, therefore, to ensure that brands borrow a leaf from the medical fraternity’s book, and institute a Continuing Insurance Education initiative—for themselves (i.e. their employees and agents) and, more importantly, for their customers and prospects. If the category is to help the customer see the merits of long term savings and protection, then a long term investment to educate them about their specific needs and options is crucial for brands. Insurance Marketing tenet #3: Mine the gold you have within reach.Unlike many other categories, insurance –or the actuarial business, more broadly – is based on solid business analytics. An understanding of customers, prospects and their specific needs is within the grasp of each insurance company. While the business runs and evolves on these analytics, marketing doesn’t always mine them to enhance the business. Instead of educated guesses and anecdotal reports from the field, marketing has the tools readily available to enable and enhance the entire spectrum of business decisions: from new product development to identifying key customer segments; from strategy course correction to identifying new geographies. Most importantly, business analytics can help predict overall market and consumption trends, identify gaps in customer need satisfaction, and help streamline customer education efforts. In turn, these can lead to robust lead management, high persistency yields and increased loyalty and referrals. Additionally, a direct line of communication can be established with customers—to educate them more credibly, and in a reassuring manner, about the cyclical nature of events, and the need for longer term planning and protection as a means to meet their life goals. Insurance Marketing tenet #4: The opportunity to become agents of change.Multiple social forces have collided to create both the biggest opportunity and challenge for the insurance industry. On one hand, rapid nuclearization of families has meant that the traditional advisors and preservers of wisdom are no longer as easily accessible as in the past to most families. On another hand, a burgeoning middle class has meant a seemingly limitless market opportunity that only needs to be sold to. While insurance companies have energetically pursued the latter, they have missed seeing the opportunity in the former, with the result that insurance agents are seen merely as pesky agents of sale. In reality, this is the best time to fill the gap and create trustworthy advisors who can demonstrate they have nothing but customers’ long term security and prosperity in heart. Marketing can play a crucial role in enabling this transformation by systematically training field staff on how to become agents of change. By investing in a strategic communications programme that changes agents’ mindsets first in order to educate customers about the importance of a longer term perspective. By bringing together these two stakeholders, insurance companies can go from being faceless entities to actually investing the face of the company, viz., the agents with the power and the credibility to become true partners to customers in creating and ensuring the best possible futures for themselves and their families.