A Time To Reflect

charukesi August 11th, 2008

I learn - Now, with the completion of 100 days in the Southern metropolis, TOI celebrated the occasion with a special 104-page pullout, ‘Chillax’, with its August 7 edition. Chillax? (cringe). But celebrating a hundred days - really? What were they expecting - to be thrown out of the theatres market, end of the first week?

And oh sorry - I just read on - ‘Chillax’, a combination of ‘Chill’ and ‘Relax’, is a common enough lingo amongst the youth and represents vigour, cosmopolitanism and youthfulness. That makes sense. Now I go try some Sleepax to see if the flu I am coming down with gonishes.

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charukesi May 20th, 2008

On the same say, in agencyfaqs, two articles about advertising on vehicles - Rickshaws: No longer just a transport option and Taxi advertising: It’s an ad-cab world . You can get away from television, but never away from advertising?

On a related note, Chennai looks so much cleaner, greener, thanks to the fact that those giant hoardings, and yes, even gargantuan cut-outs and posters (both cinema and political) have all come down. You can actually see trees now, said a friend who’s always lived in Chennai. As this article says, Hoardings disappear, Chennai reappears.

Of course, now in place of hoardings, there are kiosks lining the road along the side and the middle - step out of the airport and you are told (you cannot miss it) - if it is Chennai, it is the Hindu - oh really, what about Times of India then? you may well ask… In response, Times of India has kiosks (squeezed in wherever the Hindu has left space) saying -Times of India - Changing Times (or tunes?)

As I drove out of the airport and made my way towards Guindy, I was reminded of Delhi say, eight years ago when ToI and HT had fought a similar kiosk war…

Related posts : Advertising to invade textbooks

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charukesi April 14th, 2007

Alistair gets 6 months for killing 7 people - front page - Times of India (link when it gets uploded on their website - for now, log into their e-paper).

Dilip in country you know - But please do not worry particularly about public reaction to this sentence. Because — so lucky! — it came down when people are occupied with a far more vital discussion in the same country: about patriotism that may or may not flow from cakes and instrumental versions.

Come now, Dilip the TOI does ask for reader responses - do you believe justice has been done? - in mytimesmyvoice, no less…

So what if they expect readers to express their reaction under the subject : World Cup - surely supporting the country’s cricket team is patriotic too? I guess this is just ToI’s way of showing what they have learnt over years and years - there are some subjects which are sure to gain public attention and some which never do. Insults to national honor and a losing sports team belong to the former.

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charukesi July 30th, 2005

If you live around the western suburbs in Bombay and have been wondering about that strange smell in the air, here it is the puzzle solved for you. It is because Mr. Big Bacchan has not had a bath for three days

Big B didn’t bathe for 3 days - says an authoritative source, viz. the Deccan Chronicle on their front page.

They in turn got it straight from the er, wife’s mouth - all the way from Delhi. She saw the fact that Mr. Bacchan has not been able to have a bath as the “collapse of administration in Mumbai”…

In the course of the conversation, she also made a careful mistake, taking care to correct herself immediately and make her meaning clear…

In her enthusiasm, Ms Bachchan referred to Mulayam Singh Yadav as the “Prime Minister of UP” but corrected herself immediately. “But, God willing, he will become Prime Minister of the country one day,” she said.

God save the country is all I can think of saying, apart from commiserating with the Bacchans.

However, others around me here in Madras do not share my sentiment - the water situation here is so bad I suspect many of them go without a bath for many days, and regularly at that…

And oh, the Bachhans also had another mini trauma in the house - Her son, actor Abhishek Bachchan, also had a tough time. “There was five feet of water in the house and my son had to balance a tray with some eatables and a bottle of water on his head to reach his grandmother, who was on the first floor of the house,” said Ms Bachchan. “Fortunately, he is a tall man,” she added wryly

Absolutely fortunately.

Also Sonia writes about another hmmm, celebrity’s ordeal carrying pastries high above his head. His misery was multiplied further by the fact that he was just returning from a manicure and pedicure from the parlour.

The rain gods have indeed been cruel - all I can hope and pray for now is for this celebrity to get another appointment double quick at his parlour, so some of his trauma is lessened…

Time and pedicure, the greatest healers…. Please join me in my prayers…

And all ToI bashers, look - ToI is not the only newspaper with well, unusual perspectives on what constitutes news and front page news. These two items I have linked to here are from Deccan Chronicle and Mumbai Mirror respectively.

****

Dilip D’Souza went out for a walk and came back with this wallet box - This morning was the last straw. I’m switching, starting tomorrow. I encourage others to do the same. And more important, write to the Times to tell them exactly why you are doing it. Not email, but fax or post. Registered post.

Anyone remember the old Tamil song - kaatru vaanga ponaen oru kavidai vaangi vandaen (I went out to get some fresh air - and I got back some poetry)

Also remembered this old campaign started by a few popular bloggers a couple of years ago - Say No to! Media Slaughter (from Mahesh Shantaram’s blog filter coffee). Maybe it is time for another one now.

Spread the word around…

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charukesi July 29th, 2005

Were you one of those stuck in the Bombay rains without a ToI? Lucky you.

Or one of those even luckier ones to receive helpful hints from Airtel on finding where the nearest coffee shop was…?

Rashmi Bansal says stop selling for once - SMS from Airtel: Stuck in the rain? (half of Bombay is , today!). Dial 501 for information on the nearest coffee shop.

%&^%$$*. Would it kill them to provide some useful info instead. Like which train lines are down, when the water is expected to recede etc etc etc?

It would not kill them, but then that would just not be in keeping with tested and proven cellphone marketing strategies… Imagine trying to provide socially useful information… (why do I have this uncomfortable feeling that Airtel belives that information about the nearest coffee shop is s.u.i)

And if you think only Airtel has behaved irresponsibly, it is because they were the only network to survive in Bombay during the first 24 hours when everything else went kaput. (I know from repeated franctic attempts to call my husband in Bombay)

And Uma writes of how the people of Bombay have survived an even greater tragedy than the rains - living without ToI for a whole day. Gasp! Nature can be so cruel…Thousands “marooned without ToI”.

I guess it would have been a lot of help to those stuck on the roads - as toilet paper, I mean…

Marketing above all. Everything else be damned.

There has been so much said and written about the paper wars in Bombay that it seems superfluous to say any more. (but then, when have I ever let that stop me ? :))

***

One newspaper, with a history of being the mouthpiece of the Congress (the Indian National Congress, not the family owned private limited company that it is today) plans a dhamaka launch in Bombay - from hundreds of stories they could have used, they chose one that was sure to stir controversy and communal sentiments - the Salman Khan tapes - why after all these years, like a greedy child holding on to a toffee - to be savoured - for maximum pleasure - or in this case, impact.

Because the launch is in Bombay - and the twin themes of bollywood and bhai log are closer to Bombay than anything else. Showing Bombay in a new light - never mind how much such “scoops” take journalism as a whole into darkness…

And then the other, the one without which people felt marooned the last couple of days. Why was the Mumbai Mirror launched at all - is there a need for such a newspaper in the market? This was clearly Bennett and Coleman’s way of anticipating the DNA attack. In other words, a pre-emptive strike… Flanking the market - we have a newspaper and a tabloid. Either way, we are prepared for DNA - the newspaper with the marketing brain and muscle of two media giants behind it…

Except it didn’t quite turn out that way. Sensible people across Bombay turned around to ask why the group needed a second tabloid when there was already one in the form of ToI. Surey, tabloid is not just about size but about content too… And if it just about size and local news, then Mid Day was already there in the market and there to stay.

Therefore, the ‘free with your daily newspaper’ strategy… I wonder how long ToI can go on with this scheme, as deep as their pockets go… What happens when the sampling stops - and people discover what is really in their DNA…?

And that also makes me wonder about DNA’s launch strategy - hornets everywhere, just waiting for their nests to be stirred…

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charukesi July 14th, 2005

…can we hope for more fresh air.

And better features? And better editorial content?

And yes, certainly a better Sunday newspaper as Uma MD says here (oops, her title for this post is the same as mine - can I claim I thought of it first in my mind?)

Today’s Time of India carries a full page for HT - lovely photograph of Flora Fountain all in muted greys and greens - overall stunning visual.

And then this perplexing line - Starting today, see Mumbai in a new light.

See Mumbai? Are they being admirably honest and laying no claims to being a national newspaper? Or has someone tipped them off to the fact that with all that is happening in the newspaper market, Mid-day with it local Mumbaiyya timepass flavour and bindaas attitude still rules the hearts of Mumbai readers?

Or, does HT believe that what people really want is local news - international bombings and peace summits be damned - let there be supplement ?

And if that is true, then that ties in perfectly with what Dilip is saying here ?

(Personally, I am cheesed off at this upstart outsider to Bombay claiming to show me Mumbai in a new light).

Update : I just read the newspaper - the post was more about the advertisement. First reaction - why the Salman Khan tapes on front page top story - obviously they have had it for a long time now and were hoarding it for the big bang launch edition. Liked the photo feature on Mumbai. Did not like the supplements.

Will buy
Won’t buy

As of now won’t - but willing to wait and watch…

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charukesi July 12th, 2005

Times of India + Mumbai Mirror = Over 100 pages

Times of India clearly believes in the platter approach - offer all kinds of readers all kinds of news (or whatever) - in the form of different supplements. Apart from the regular Bombay Times and Property (or is it Education) supplements, I now get an International supplement (which I like very much) and New Bombay Times (yes, all about which road in which sector of Vashi is in bad shape due to the monsoons and so on - usually with striking pictures of said road - and oh, it also carries recipes for extremely rare and exotic dishes like rajma given by a new Bombay resident)

Needless to say, of these 100 pages, roughly 20 make for “news” reading - sure, another 8 make for interesting reading - Mallika Sherawat and the sex MMS, for instance.

***

The new supplement ‘times review’ launched this Sunday sounded very promising. A Sundae Whopper, said the main page of the ToI. The sundae contained five full length articles on the Bacchans - Amitabh and/or Abhishek and together. Different writers, different titles (like the super imaginative ‘waiting for sonrise’), same theme.

Five articles. Or one and a half pages out of a supplement with eight pages. In newspaper terms, that is colossal.

No, M/s Bennett and Coleman, more is not always better - more pages, more supplements… same newspaper.

****

And yes, I forgot, now the Mumbai Mirror is thrown in for free.

Finally, Mumbai gets a no-nonsense newspaper… (you know my views on this one and other such)

10th July - Front page - top story of the day

Bandra designer roped for D shadi

Yes, very no nonsense.

****

Finally, after many here-we-come-watch-outs, HT and DNA have announced their launch dates in Mumbai.

Hindustan Times’ Mumbai edition to hit stands on July 14.

If HT is working on a two-stage strategy, first “targeting the discerning English reader. In stage two, we will build the circulation”, DNA goes one better. As part of the launch fireworks, DNA will auction their front page - and don’t frown, it is all for a good cause.

Another activity that DNA has undertaken is the auctioning of its front page. The auction would be done on exchange4media.com. The proceeds of the auction would go to the social cause ‘Keep Mumbai Clean’.

Dilip, any take on this?

——————————————
Cross-posted on media musings

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charukesi June 14th, 2005

DNA targets August 15 launch date, unveils campaign to get advance bookings - the ‘will book’ / ‘won’t book’ hoardings are up all over Mumbai.

Sure all marketing is centred around focused targeting-positioning but I have rarely seen targeting as blatant - or non inclusive as this. Which means, advertisers never say “this not our ideal consumer” - which is what DNA seems to be doing. While the ‘Will book’ shows trendy, upscale readers, the ‘Won’t book’ shows a different kind of reader.

er, different? DNA is not yet in the market and the newspaper has already decided - this is the kind of reader we want - and this is the kind we don’t? Rather presumptuous?

Why will he book?

…. And she not?

Or are these ads really not meant for the reader / consumer at all ? Sure the theme is you-reader-are-important-to-us-so-you-decide - the tone that competition has forced newspapers to adopt. The truth however is that newspaper (or any mainstream media vehicle) revenues come not from subscription but from advertising.

So are these ads really targeted at advertisers - look at the kind of readers we have - or hope to have?
And is anybody else offended by them as I was?

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charukesi June 6th, 2005

I had blogged about my dropped jaw last week on seeing a full page ad for HT in the ToI. And Suhail wrote in pointing to this link from exchange4media - Warring rivals join hands. HT, TOI agree to co-operate. And today, Rediff reports Times, HT join hands in Mumbai

Cross ownership of media vehicles is one thing (ToI, India Times, Radio Mirchi blah blah) - it makes cross promotion across media vehicles easy - but advertising for a competing brand screams all lines drawn - in the battle against DNA…

Says Ravi Dhariwal, executive director and member of the board, Bennett, Coleman: “It’s not a change in strategy for either of the players. We compete for readers and advertising but that does not mean that we will not collaborate. In Mumbai, it will be a win-win situation for both of us.”

Clearly not for the readers though. Unless you are rooting for sheer entertainment value…

It will be interesting to see how long this bhaichara lasts… what will happen once HT actually hits the market?

As for DNA, the proposed June launch has been postponed for a few months - and in the current market scenario, this only spells trouble… despite this bit of imaginative and optimistic spin from DNA’s marketing head Suresh Balakrishnan The signal is clear. It only suggests that Times considers HT a lesser rival than us - and apparently this is a point that insiders at ToI agree with - Rediff also says that DNA is going to launch a new ad campaign around this theme soon.

DNA, Speak to us. We are waiting to listen to you…

I have already developed this affection for the underdoggish DNA (here you must picture my amused yet tolertant smile at Subhash Chandra’s dreams of world domination) - if that newspaper delivers even a bit of what it promises - stories that are relevant and interesting to the readers (and not the publishing group’s other media / events interests) , I am looking forward to it…

———– cross posted on Media Musings

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charukesi May 25th, 2005

Harini has a scathing post on the headlines Now, Mumbai to get a no-nonsense paper…. featured prominently in today’s Economic Times.
Today it is the turn of their yet to be launched tabloid (why would any group want two tabloids) the Mumbai Mirror. (words hers, smile mine)

“Bennett now has a good insight of exactly what readers in Mumbai want” - does this mean that so far they didn’t know what the readers of Mumbai wanted.

This reminds me of the ad / corporate slogan that Philips had come up with - let’s make things better - implying what? that things were so bad at Philips they finally decided to roll up their sleeves and do something about it…? The sad thing is, having adopted this slogan, they failed to milk it in any way - they could have used it to pitch strongly for their sense of social responsibility - we are concerned not just with making better products but also a better society… but no. A smart slogan is the key to market supremacy.

And now having cracked the ‘better’ scene, they have moved on to sense and simplicity

In the same vein is Hindustan Times’ Let there be light - are the Caucasian model types featured in the ad to deliver us from the darkness and lead us on to the light? I know there have been a lot of power cuts in Bombay but surely this is not the solution? And does anyone know if this campaign is on in Delhi as well or is HT content with leaving their strong market in the grip of darkness?

In this case, there is clearly no place for the prosumer - in a market where newspapers are vying with each other to tell the readers that it is their opinion which matters (your newspaper, your DNA), HT is sticking to the role of traditional agenda-setter…. They must have their reasons…

Incidentally, The Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India, the apex body of all catholic churches in the country, has expressed its displeasure at the way Hindustan Times has borrowed ‘Let there be light’ from the Old Testament of the Bible. Copyright issues can be rather complicated in this case…

Do you feel the way I do - that less slogan and more strategy is in order?

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