Have we forgotten to set up social norms on social media in our blurry to expand that virtual society?

http://digital.impactonnet.com/143749/Impact/volume-10-issue-08#dual/16/2

For times immemorial societies created some socially accepted norms. The British were mostly known for their politeness, reserved and overtly formal manners. And even today they tend to stick to these social norms. The Americans are different as they are casual and gregarious in their societal norms. The Indian society has always been culturally rooted and hence respect, right values and decency are considered societal norms.

In India not only the society was divided into four sects, each of the sect had some socially accepted behaviours. And those social norms were followed so stringently that Yudhistir agreed to play chaupad the second time also, knowing fully well that he will lose his kingdom. The reason was that Ksatriyas were not supposed to decline any challenge.

But whatever be the manifestation, one common thread among all societies was some commonly accepted social norms of being responsive, courteous and pleasant in all social interactions.

Our society has changed dramatically since the times of Mahabharata and we have accepted modification of the expression of these norms even though we are still rooted. But the changes in social behaviour we have seen on technology enabled social media just tempt me to dub it anti-social behaviour. On social media, our self centered and narcissist self is at its peak, to the extent that we just ignore even the most basic of social etiquettes. Is it the reflection of times we live in or we simply forgot to set up some social norms on social media in our hurry to expand that virtual society?

A brief analysis of our own Facebook page will reveal that most of the time communication is one way; sharing what we find important for us, not what is of interest to our friend circle. Researches have established that people, who have greater number of friends on Facebook, tagged themselves more often and updated their newsfeeds regularly, scored highly on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory questionnaire. Social media offers these people a chance to self-promote by amassing a large number of friends, posting about their lives in detail and create an image which projects social success.

Is social media really a virtual alternate reality that gives us the freedom to behave differently from offline real world? Think of it if someone walks up to your work station to say hello to you and you don’t even look up from your computer and totally ignore her. I can hear a complete no-no from almost everyone. But when it comes to social media there are plethora of unanswered personal messages not just comments on your friend’s wall. We have even forgotten a basic courtesy of saying ‘thank you’ to a positive comment of our wall.

How many times people get into a discussion with friends on a topic of common interest? Every time we meet our friends. But social media does not reflect similar behaviour. How interesting would be the conversation if one person talks and others just nod. In the social media space ‘likes’ are the nods. A comment is what will fuel a healthy discussion. Sample this – while there are 1.9 billion likes each month in India, comments come to just 892 million each month on Facebook. While personalized communication is more satisfying and in line with our natural social behaviour, users prefer the lazy one click of the ‘Like’.

It is time to build conversation on social media. Moira Burka says that users who receive composed communication become less lonely while those who received one click communication continue to experience feelings of loneliness. Aren’t we shirking away from social obligations to our friends?

Brands operate as social units too. All social units develop a culture of their own. This culture is a result of relationships that exist between brands and its users. Values and culture of the brand is formed basis the community in which it exists. Can brands afford to behave differently on social media? Brands are able to garner millions of likes in a short span of time but are not able to engage these customers and prospects to build long-term relationships. It is becoming almost like a one-way conversation. The result is an endless list of brand followers but hardly and loyal customers.

In the offline world, while it is easy to make friends, it takes lot of effort to nurture those relationships. With brands too, it is important to build relationships with people that will resonate with them. Social media has provided an opportunity to interact with new friends and/or with those long-lost school and college mates. But problem with digital intimacy is that it creates ties that do not bind but only create a false feeling of a large social network.  And that is where brands can easily fall prey to.

Isn’t it then important that brands too stop running after the number of likes but build relationships, engage in authentic and compelling conversations that truly  share common values and thus last forever? It is not just important to have a long list of followers but it is important to continuously engage with them. Like human beings brands too have to carefully nurture and nourish these relationships to develop a strong social community that it operates in. Social networks of brands are driven by the same human values of transparency, ethics, responsiveness and intimacy.

The solution lies in accepting the fact that online is replicated reality of offline world. Be less focused on quantity. Curate, select and filter your friends and followers list and truly engage with like-minded ones. Brands should focus in engaging the people with better, richer and funnier conversations. It cannot be a pompous broadcasting mentality. Fundamentally, great friendship arises from understanding each other, so brands too must understand its followers for longer and lasting relationship. Let us make it one world – a world of friends and long-lasting friendships whether real or online.

You and your brand do not need to be Yudhishtir to follow social norms but you need to be Krishna who is always available to his real friends.

A Category connected to the best Milestones of life - Campaign India

http://www.campaignindia.in/Article/351419,a-category-connected-to-the-best-milestones-of-life.aspx

Needed Urgently: Brand Reputation Fixers

Simone Elkeles in her book, Perfect Chemistry asked, What's the use of having a reputation if you can't ruin it every now and then?” One of the strongest believers of this statement seem to be the people leading the largest, most popular sports platforms in the country.

The recent spot fixing scandal is a testimony to IPL’s wholehearted belief in this. It has resulted in grave damage not only to IPL’s brand repute  but also that of Indian cricket. While it’s easy to dismiss this scandal as yet another controversy that IPL has famously come to be associated with, I think it’s about time we took a pause. For a sport that has millions of fans and countless amount of passion, love, zeal and energy invested in it, it’s a betrayal of the highest order. It started with the sacking of Lalit Modi due to misappropriation of funds, then came the resignation of Shashi Tharoor for his alleged involvement in the Kochi franchise bid and now this.

Take another case of reputation mismanagement. The Commonwealth Games. Remember how ill prepared the organizing committee was in the run up to the event? How pathetic was the condition of the Olympics Village when the global federation came to review progress? And how inflated were the contracts that took place under the leadership of the then Chairman, Mr. Suresh Kalmadi?

IPL and Commonwealth Games – 2 massive brands that put India in the global spotlight. 2 mega opportunities to showcase India’s sports management skills to the world. Look what we did to the former and look what are we are doing to the latter.

IIPL infact is one brand that has grabbed the world’s attention. It’s an opportunity that many international cricketers want to latch onto and a business model that companies and sports associations around the world wish to emulate. And then when incidents like spot fixing happen, they question the very core of the game, and cause severe dent to brand image. A recent study by Brand Finance Plc has estimated that IPL’s long-term brand value has eroded by $1billion since 2008, due to such scams and the resulting descent in trust. And this doesn’t include the erosion of brand trust among the true followers of the game. That explains why so many viewers watching the finals were wondering all through, whether that match too was fixed.

Perhaps IPL and BCCI could take lessons from brands who have also suffered crises that resulted in large-scale threats to their image. Do you recall the fiasco at one of the American outlets of a famous international pizza delivery brand?  Two employees uploaded a sick prank video of them contaminating food with human mucus, putting cheese up their nose and violating other health code standards. The video went viral and resulted in more than a million disgusted viewers and massive danger to a brand built over decades. The company’s reaction to the crisis has 2 key lessons. First, gracefully acknowledge that you did wrong. The brand didn’t go in denial mode but publicly admitted that what had happened was terrible. Second, speed of response is key. In today’s times when social media ensures that bad news travels fast and achieves monstrous proportions, you can’t afford to wait. The   company quickly issued an apology on its website and then posted a more elaborate video on YouTube from its President.

Another lesson to pick up is from a professional networking site that got hacked last year. This resulted in several passwords getting compromised. The company responded not only by apologizing but also by continuously informing customers of the measures being taken to correct the problem via its twitter and blog pages. That’s lesson three. Keep the channels of communication open, continuously reassure your customers of the corrective steps being taken.

A final example is from Volkswagen. Several years ago, one of their car brands had to be recalled in massive numbers owing to a fault in the machinery. This had a severe impact on the brand’s image and sales. The brand decided to do something it or perhaps any other brand had never done before. It’s next campaign began with a teaser that showed consumers actually running away from VW salespeople. This bold depiction of truth was then followed by communicating how the cars were now fault-free and completely safe. The lesson: Big disasters call for bold actions to be taken.

Now, let’s look at the state of the custodians of Indian cricket. Be it BCCI or IPL, did they gracefully acknowledge the wrongdoing? Did they or are they even now responding speedily? With the Chairman having spent most of his time unsuccessfully fighting to keep his position, do we have any hope of quick resolution on the matter? Instead of keeping communication channels open or seeing innovative corrective actions being thought through, all we see is lack of transparency.

It would help if the cricket bodies learnt from some of these brands who managed to restore faith after disaster struck. Because it is imperative to earn back the trust . They owe to all innocent cricketers who’s been shamed by virtue of being a part of cricket. They owe it to every Indian who has ever bunked a class/office or prayed for his /her team to win. 

What marketers need to do to be ahead of the deal-hunting customer

Snapping up a smart deal is not just about saving money; it’s one more way to highlight your stature. And this phenomenon is only going to get bigger, says the author
If you’ve got it, then flaunt it. That seems to be the motto of Indian shoppers. But the question is what to flaunt; the brand you own or the price at which you owned the brand?

Indians have always been known to haggle for prices. It is seen as a skill which is essential to survive and succeed in this world or at least in India. The famous dhania example of Santosh Desai is actually true across all income segments. But when it comes to branded and expensive items, behaviours change. The rich aunt would flaunt the latest saree bought from Benaras with a certain price tag. She would also invite you to eat ice-cream made in her recently bought refrigerator. In the pre 90s, buying a refrigerator, owning a house phone, buying a car, travelling in a flight were signifiers of ‘being rich’ and the price tag attached to it was an integral part of the aspiration quotient.

With the growth in the GDP and the spurt in disposable incomes, consumer confidence became upbeat as they saw visible improvement in their standard of living. The change in economy also brought about a change in the way consumers were shopping. They had more disposable money but they also became smarter in the way they spent. They looked for deals in everything - airline tickets, clothes, cars, consumer durable et al.

The desire to own and experience exclusive international brands grew. In the larger family, everyone now owns a ‘Gucci’ or some other expensive branded items. Owning an international brand is no more a differentiator or a signature of being rich. While consumers do want to try these brands and flaunt them, the real differentiator lies in the ability to do smart shopping by finding the best available deal.

As we enter the digital era, the Indian consumers’ desire to find deals has soared. The trend is fuelled with the advent of e-commerce with all the required information being available 24/7 at the click of a button. Everything from price comparisons and customer reviews to suggested pairings (shoppers who bought this also bought…) are an integral part of the online purchase process. The debate about prices, offerings, services and quality has moved online with millions of consumers joining the conversations. No wonder that the in-store shoppers are researching the prices online before they set out to buy them offline.

There can be no better time for this new class of discerning Indian shoppers. ‘Sale’ has become a quarterly phenomenon in the swanky malls. To catch a deal for that expensive perfume, shoes and bags is no more a challenge. Consumers are equipped with the latest gadgets (bought at another deal) and have access to social networking sites where people keep posting about their ‘catch of the day’. While Carrey Bradshaw of Sex and the City would give an arm and leg for owning the latest Blahnik, the Indian shopper will wait for a ‘discount’ and strut those shoes with envying eyes following her. The better the deal or discount you can get, the smarter you are.

The ball for ‘deal hunting’ was set rolling with the dynamic pricing of airline tickets by Air Deccan, India’s first low cost airline. Tickets were available at a low of Rs 500 and people clamored for seats. Predictably, other airlines too started changing their pricing technique and many more people started flying instead of travelling by train. That was in 2003. In 2013, Air Deccan does not exist and the company to which they were sold is almost closing. Yet, the pricing strategy stayed with the likes of popular travel portals who today, offer deals not only on air tickets, but also on hotels. This has led to major changes in consumer attitudes to discounts and deals. Obviously, consumers love getting good deals always, but rather than having to hide one’s haggling, securing the best deal is now being admired by friends and family. In fact, it’s now more than just about saving money; it’s the excitement, the chase, the sense of control, the perceived smartness, and thus, one more way to highlight your stature. And this phenomenon is only going to get bigger and bigger from here.

The lesson for the marketer from consumers basking in the thrill of grabbing a deal, is to ‘Avoid getting trapped in the commoditization syndrome’ and be involved with ‘him’: Let him feel special, let him customise and even co-create products.
Marketers may follow three simple steps to be ahead of the deal hunting consumer:

- Be accessible, be available, be omnipresent: Customers are now equipped with latest technologies. Time is the new currency. So marketers need to be present in all forms of media so that you are there, wherever your customer is.

- Be transparent: Be true to the products that are on deal. The consumer is smart and confident and will do his research well before he actually buys.

- Create an experience: The brand needs to move beyond product and price to create a more holistic experience including service and post purchase engagement.

At some level, the Indian shopper still has a ‘free dhania’ mindset. Only that the phenomenon has climbed the ladder and has reached all aspects of his shopping agenda. In a way, the Indian consumers can be defined as a ‘mosaic of tradition and modernity’.

(The author is director and chief marketing officer, Max Life Insurance. Views expressed are personal.)

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Hello Brand Manager. You just choked the jersey....

As marketers line up to participate in the greatest sporting and entertainment extravaganza in India, they are leaving no stone unturned to show off their presence. And one of the easiest ways to do so is a spot on the team’s uniform.

But is easiest indeed effective? On any given uniform there are an average of 6 logos vying for the viewer’s attention. This is over and above the bright, shiny uniform itself that shouts out loud to be noticed. Do viewers really remember which logo they see on which team’s jersey? Can consumers really associate a brand with a particular team? Are brands really getting enough bang for the big bucks they’re spending?

There’s a whole lot of other colourful chaos to add to the crowded uniform. Between team sponsor, principal partners and associate partners, each of the 9 teams has anywhere between 6 to 22 brands that partner it. And this doesn’t include IPL’s title sponsor, its official partners and the official broadcasters on TV and on the internet – all of whom are fighting for attention in the stadium and on the screens. Plus there are the other brands associated with the event -- such as those buying spots on TV during matches and post-match analysis.

And while brand managers may spend hours debating which team to go with, on which player’s jersey would they’d love to see their logo on, statistics from companies who slice and dice player uniform data suggest that, apart from the joy of associating with a winning team it doesn’t really matter which team you go with.

The question then is - is it just an ego boost for marketers? The argument against is that marketers don’t just buy branding on uniform, they buy a package that works at multiple levels. But a little stadium branding here, a meet-and-greet there, just won’t help the cause. Unless the brand’s surround and engagement levels are above a certain threshold and all-pervasive and simultaneous across multiple media, it would be difficult for brand managers to show ROI on this event.

The journey gets rougher for smaller, unknown players. While they enter with the intent of leveraging a national platform to build salience and traction, a new unfamiliar name and logo can easily get lost in the noise of celebrities, cheerleaders, players, and bigger, noisier brands. To succeed, they will need to invest heavily on mass and online media in addition to logo placement.

But what about larger brands? Are they doing it right? In their eagerness to drive eyeballs, some marketers never even question if their logo is actually jersey-friendly. The length of the words, some fonts, colours and visual styling that might look great otherwise, may just not be noticeable in those fleeting seconds in which the camera zooms on a jersey during telecast.

Having said that, there are brands who realize that it’s more important that the brand’s message and philosophy be understood by consumers. They don’t cherry pick a jersey-logo, but go the whole hog... paying for match tickets, sampling, party invites and merchandise, to reward customers and sales and distribution teams. They find dynamic and interactive ways of engaging with consumers and sharing their brand idea, instead of mere static logo presence. Topping this up with a healthy on-air presence through advertising can seal the deal.

So next time you’re considering IPL, I’d urge you to pause and ponder. Is the choked jersey really the best place to show off your brand?
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