DID YOU KNOW???
QUESTIONS:
01. What is broken when you name it?
02. What is it that someone else has to take before you can get it?
03. John is standing behind Mary, and Mary is standing behind John. How is this possible ?
04. What is often returned but never borrowed?
05. What keys can't you put in a lock?
06. Which is faster, hot or cold?
07. Where is the only place that yesterday always follow today?
08. The maker doesn't want it, the buyer doesn't use it and the user doesn't see it. What is it?
09. What runs all around the yard without moving?
10. What is one thing that all wise men, regardless of their politics or religion, agree is between heaven and earth?
11. What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don't want to use it?
ANSWERS:
01. Silence
02. Your photograph
03. They are standing back to back
04. Thanks
05. Piano
06. Hot, because you can catch a cold
07. In a dictionary
08. Coffin
09. A fence
10. The word "AND"
11. An anchor
Monday, October 30, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Friday, February 17, 2006
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Janmat's 'Commercial Break' features Nirvik Singh in mellow gear
President South East Asia and Chairman, South Asia of Grey Worldwide, Nirvik Singh is captured in a mellow mood on 'Commercial Break', aired at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday, 28 January on Janmant, India's first 24 hour views channel. 'Commercial Break' focuses on the creative process, the highs and lows of the advertising world and the people who mould words and images to make us laugh, cry and think.
This half hourly show covers one leading Ad Agency every week. The discussion veers to the agency's memorable works, awards won and ad creatives that made the grade or fell by the wayside. Shot on location, Commercial Break captures the human angle behind the women and men who lead advertising agencies in India.
Nirvik Singh, who has seen the giddy highs and abject lows of the business, reveals how Founder Ravi Gupta's demise spelt disaster for Grey. The lean phase saw Grey give up on many clients. "We had to start from scratch," says Singh.
Grey now has rebuilt its reputation and manages Proctor and Gamble, Incredible India for the Government of India, Ambuja Cement, Kinetic Velocity among many other clients. But when asked about the India Shining campaign, which turned out to spark the debacle for BJP, Nirvik Singh said, "Powerful advertising can make or break a client, and we learnt that from the India Shining campaign." Grey's inimitable Thums Up campaign, considered by many to be inspired advertising, has helped Thums Up to maintain its dominant status in the Indian cola market.
Commercial Break departs from the current industry norms of having a very formal or structured interview format. Instead it also introduces segments on old Indian commercials that have entered Indian marketing lore - for example the 40-year old Hamam ad campaign was recently showcased. There are segments on international ad campaigns, a Vox Pop for the common man to react on current campaigns and a section on the top three ads of the week.
Positioned as India's first Views Channel, Janmat has brought a fresh breeze in the country's TV viewing landscape. Janmat is a 24-hour current affairs channel targeted towards the discerning Indian audience. Through its innovative positioning and its interactive programming Janmat is breaking old stereotypes.
This half hourly show covers one leading Ad Agency every week. The discussion veers to the agency's memorable works, awards won and ad creatives that made the grade or fell by the wayside. Shot on location, Commercial Break captures the human angle behind the women and men who lead advertising agencies in India.
Nirvik Singh, who has seen the giddy highs and abject lows of the business, reveals how Founder Ravi Gupta's demise spelt disaster for Grey. The lean phase saw Grey give up on many clients. "We had to start from scratch," says Singh.
Grey now has rebuilt its reputation and manages Proctor and Gamble, Incredible India for the Government of India, Ambuja Cement, Kinetic Velocity among many other clients. But when asked about the India Shining campaign, which turned out to spark the debacle for BJP, Nirvik Singh said, "Powerful advertising can make or break a client, and we learnt that from the India Shining campaign." Grey's inimitable Thums Up campaign, considered by many to be inspired advertising, has helped Thums Up to maintain its dominant status in the Indian cola market.
Commercial Break departs from the current industry norms of having a very formal or structured interview format. Instead it also introduces segments on old Indian commercials that have entered Indian marketing lore - for example the 40-year old Hamam ad campaign was recently showcased. There are segments on international ad campaigns, a Vox Pop for the common man to react on current campaigns and a section on the top three ads of the week.
Positioned as India's first Views Channel, Janmat has brought a fresh breeze in the country's TV viewing landscape. Janmat is a 24-hour current affairs channel targeted towards the discerning Indian audience. Through its innovative positioning and its interactive programming Janmat is breaking old stereotypes.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Students learn how not to buy into advertising
Modern lessons - A Stafford Primary School counselor advises kids to be wary of what they see
The 9- and 10-year-olds in Kathy Kriesel's fourth-grade class look so innocent and trusting, so insecure and vulnerable.
They are exactly what many advertisers seek as they focus on preteens who want to find acceptance among their peers.
From body spray to Barbie cell phones, much of the advertising targeting preteens focuses on body image and the latest, usually expensive, technology.
Hoping to make the target audience and their parents aware of the potential for manipulation, Stafford Primary School this school year held a seminar for parents and a classroom lesson for students on the topic.
"I don't want students to be pulled into the pressure of advertising, (buying it) only because they want to be cool or fit in," said Laura Barbour, a licensed school counselor at Stafford. "There are students here who are very aware of that."
Children between the ages of 8 and 12 are especially vulnerable to such ads because they are beginning to develop their sense of identity and want a "sophisticated" self-image, she said.
Nearly 50 parents swapped suggestions at a seminar on the subject sponsored by the school's Parent Teacher Student Association. Many of them, however, had already been aware of the problem.
It's the parents who don't see the harm in such advertising who worry Suzi Anderson, vice president of the Parent Teacher Students Association.
That's where the kids come in.
During lessons to fourth- and fifth-grade students, Barbour urges them to talk with their parents about what they see in advertisements and how it affects them.
Clad in Nike, Quicksilver and other clothing labels, Kriesel's fourth-grade students weren't about to be manipulated. Their hands shot into the air with each of Barbour's questions.
"Where do you see ads?"
The list was long -- computer popups, radio, billboards, magazines, television, newspapers.
People see an average of 3,000 advertisements a day, Barbour said.
She showed an Abercrombie ad that pictured a girl hugging a boy and had the words "classic cool" along the bottom. Both models appeared about 12. Barbour asked the kids to interpret the ad.
"I think they're using cool-looking people so you will buy it," a girl said.
Others linked the ad to having a boyfriend or girlfriend.
"It looks like he's having fun with his girlfriend," a boy said, setting off giggles.
Barbour said, "I worry about advertising I see that targets younger people that are giving a clear message about body image, sexuality . . . alcohol and tobacco."
"I wonder how it affects a young person's self-esteem."
The 9- and 10-year-olds in Kathy Kriesel's fourth-grade class look so innocent and trusting, so insecure and vulnerable.
They are exactly what many advertisers seek as they focus on preteens who want to find acceptance among their peers.
From body spray to Barbie cell phones, much of the advertising targeting preteens focuses on body image and the latest, usually expensive, technology.
Hoping to make the target audience and their parents aware of the potential for manipulation, Stafford Primary School this school year held a seminar for parents and a classroom lesson for students on the topic.
"I don't want students to be pulled into the pressure of advertising, (buying it) only because they want to be cool or fit in," said Laura Barbour, a licensed school counselor at Stafford. "There are students here who are very aware of that."
Children between the ages of 8 and 12 are especially vulnerable to such ads because they are beginning to develop their sense of identity and want a "sophisticated" self-image, she said.
Nearly 50 parents swapped suggestions at a seminar on the subject sponsored by the school's Parent Teacher Student Association. Many of them, however, had already been aware of the problem.
It's the parents who don't see the harm in such advertising who worry Suzi Anderson, vice president of the Parent Teacher Students Association.
That's where the kids come in.
During lessons to fourth- and fifth-grade students, Barbour urges them to talk with their parents about what they see in advertisements and how it affects them.
Clad in Nike, Quicksilver and other clothing labels, Kriesel's fourth-grade students weren't about to be manipulated. Their hands shot into the air with each of Barbour's questions.
"Where do you see ads?"
The list was long -- computer popups, radio, billboards, magazines, television, newspapers.
People see an average of 3,000 advertisements a day, Barbour said.
She showed an Abercrombie ad that pictured a girl hugging a boy and had the words "classic cool" along the bottom. Both models appeared about 12. Barbour asked the kids to interpret the ad.
"I think they're using cool-looking people so you will buy it," a girl said.
Others linked the ad to having a boyfriend or girlfriend.
"It looks like he's having fun with his girlfriend," a boy said, setting off giggles.
Barbour said, "I worry about advertising I see that targets younger people that are giving a clear message about body image, sexuality . . . alcohol and tobacco."
"I wonder how it affects a young person's self-esteem."
Headed Out
Increasing attrition rates in the advertising industry prompt agencies to look into their people polices and work culture.
TEN years ago, if you had wanted to do something offbeat, unconventional and creative, the obvious choice would have been advertising. The glamour associated with the industry would have been such a strong pull that compensation and remuneration would have hardly mattered.
As Kalpana Rao, Training Director, Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), puts it, "I joined advertising only because I wanted to be there."
But ten years down the line, the advertising industry, despite its growth and specialisation, seems to be lacking individuals with passion for their profession.
The industry witnessed an all-time high attrition rate of nearly 35 per cent last year. What's more, people did not join rival agencies, but moved to new fields such as telecom, financial services, outsourcing and media.
According to industry players, although the attrition rates are not as alarming as those in the IT sector, it is cause for concern. John Goodman, CEO, O&M, says, "The single biggest problem is that of poaching of our people by clients, often in the financial services sector. Since we have a very good reputation, our people are often their first targets."
Nirvik Singh, President (South East Asia), Grey Global Group, says high attrition rates are a grave concern for the industry. "Whenever a company wants to enter the marketing services industry, they end up poaching talent from the ad industry as our people are well trained to handle the kind of pressures one encounters in this sector."
Sapna Srivastav, HR Head, JWT, admits that JWT witnessed a high attrition rate last year. "The year 2005 saw a comparatively high churn in JWT because we focussed aggressively on our core disciplines — servicing, planning and creative, and implemented performance-driven employment and evaluation. This enabled us to bring in new talent and add different skills. When recruiting new talent, we look for future-focussed skills."
Industry observers attribute attrition to the multiple avenues that are open to advertising talent and the low compensation packages most agencies offer. Says Nita Joshi, Director of placement company K&J Enterprises, "Most sunrise sectors such as telecom and financial services have been able to attract more talent as the growth in these sectors is faster and they also offer 20-30 per cent higher salaries than the advertising industry."
Rao of O&M says attrition is something the industry has to live with. "Most youngsters today join a particular industry not because they are passionate about it, but because they want to gain experience and move on later. The attitude of youngsters has changed."
"Therefore, one has to be careful while recruiting. Agencies have to talk to candidates in detail, especially at the entry level, as they are often confused. That is one reason we prefer to recruit summer trainees, as they would have had a feel of our organisation," she adds.
Agreeing with Rao, Savitha Mathai, HR Head, FCB Ulka, says attrition is a natural phenomenon and is here to stay. More than retaining talent, the real challenge is in getting the right talent, says Mathai. "Agencies have to be focused about their human capital planning."
Mathai says the problem of retention is more acute in middle management, as, after having spent five-six years in the industry, people tend to become restless and are on the lookout for other avenues.
On whether advertising industry salaries are actually low, Goodman of O&M says, "I think the pay scales are reasonable and rising all the time. The issue is one of desperate new entries to the Indian market who will pay silly money to try and break in."
Tarun Rai, Vice-President and General Manager, JWT, says that while a plethora of opportunities lure advertising professionals, the churn of accounts has also contributed to the high attrition rates. "Nowadays, it is pitch season the whole year. An agency wins an account and there is a requirement for people. So you contact a head-hunter. And this goes on 12 months in a year."
Rai also points out that shortage of trained manpower has added to the crisis. "We never had too many institutes for advertising professionals and that has not changed. As far as the business schools are concerned, a combination of more opportunities and higher salaries on offer has made it difficult for us to recruit."
Focus on training
As people retention is increasingly becoming a challenge, agencies are becoming more and more HR-focused, and training programmes are being looked at as an important retention tool. In fact, agencies such as O&M are investing close to 1.5 per cent of their turnover in training.
"We are taking every step possible to make a career at Ogilvy so interesting, enjoyable and rewarding that nobody would ever want to leave," says Goodman.
Investment in training is vital, agrees Srivastava of JWT. "We as employers have to invest in our people and ensure that their learning curve is always up. If the staff knows that the agency takes keen interest in their personal and professional development, then there is no reason why they would not stay with us long enough for mutual ROI."
"I have always maintained that opportunity, investment and growth are very important in retaining people. Money, of course, is important, but we do overestimate its importance. If we can provide enough opportunities to our people to realise their potential, invest in them through training to develop their skill-sets and chart their career paths, we will be able to do a better job of retaining our people," says Rai of JWT.
It is culture that matters
However, Singh of Grey is not too sure whether training could be used as a tool to retain people. "It is a tool to make people better. People stay in a company because of its culture, the clients they work with and also the work environment."
Nitin Bhagwat, Executive Director, Interface, also believes that using training as a carrot to hold people will not help. "The glue would be the culture of a company. People have to believe that their company is a winner company. Only few quit a company because of money. Most of them do so because they are unhappy." However, Singh believes quality demands good money. "The industry is aware of it, and salaries revisions are being looked at," he says.
Mathai of FCB and Rao of O&M say talent crunch is definitely here to stay, and that the onus is on the agencies to offer a culture that will hold back people.
TEN years ago, if you had wanted to do something offbeat, unconventional and creative, the obvious choice would have been advertising. The glamour associated with the industry would have been such a strong pull that compensation and remuneration would have hardly mattered.
As Kalpana Rao, Training Director, Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), puts it, "I joined advertising only because I wanted to be there."
But ten years down the line, the advertising industry, despite its growth and specialisation, seems to be lacking individuals with passion for their profession.
The industry witnessed an all-time high attrition rate of nearly 35 per cent last year. What's more, people did not join rival agencies, but moved to new fields such as telecom, financial services, outsourcing and media.
According to industry players, although the attrition rates are not as alarming as those in the IT sector, it is cause for concern. John Goodman, CEO, O&M, says, "The single biggest problem is that of poaching of our people by clients, often in the financial services sector. Since we have a very good reputation, our people are often their first targets."
Nirvik Singh, President (South East Asia), Grey Global Group, says high attrition rates are a grave concern for the industry. "Whenever a company wants to enter the marketing services industry, they end up poaching talent from the ad industry as our people are well trained to handle the kind of pressures one encounters in this sector."
Sapna Srivastav, HR Head, JWT, admits that JWT witnessed a high attrition rate last year. "The year 2005 saw a comparatively high churn in JWT because we focussed aggressively on our core disciplines — servicing, planning and creative, and implemented performance-driven employment and evaluation. This enabled us to bring in new talent and add different skills. When recruiting new talent, we look for future-focussed skills."
Industry observers attribute attrition to the multiple avenues that are open to advertising talent and the low compensation packages most agencies offer. Says Nita Joshi, Director of placement company K&J Enterprises, "Most sunrise sectors such as telecom and financial services have been able to attract more talent as the growth in these sectors is faster and they also offer 20-30 per cent higher salaries than the advertising industry."
Rao of O&M says attrition is something the industry has to live with. "Most youngsters today join a particular industry not because they are passionate about it, but because they want to gain experience and move on later. The attitude of youngsters has changed."
"Therefore, one has to be careful while recruiting. Agencies have to talk to candidates in detail, especially at the entry level, as they are often confused. That is one reason we prefer to recruit summer trainees, as they would have had a feel of our organisation," she adds.
Agreeing with Rao, Savitha Mathai, HR Head, FCB Ulka, says attrition is a natural phenomenon and is here to stay. More than retaining talent, the real challenge is in getting the right talent, says Mathai. "Agencies have to be focused about their human capital planning."
Mathai says the problem of retention is more acute in middle management, as, after having spent five-six years in the industry, people tend to become restless and are on the lookout for other avenues.
On whether advertising industry salaries are actually low, Goodman of O&M says, "I think the pay scales are reasonable and rising all the time. The issue is one of desperate new entries to the Indian market who will pay silly money to try and break in."
Tarun Rai, Vice-President and General Manager, JWT, says that while a plethora of opportunities lure advertising professionals, the churn of accounts has also contributed to the high attrition rates. "Nowadays, it is pitch season the whole year. An agency wins an account and there is a requirement for people. So you contact a head-hunter. And this goes on 12 months in a year."
Rai also points out that shortage of trained manpower has added to the crisis. "We never had too many institutes for advertising professionals and that has not changed. As far as the business schools are concerned, a combination of more opportunities and higher salaries on offer has made it difficult for us to recruit."
Focus on training
As people retention is increasingly becoming a challenge, agencies are becoming more and more HR-focused, and training programmes are being looked at as an important retention tool. In fact, agencies such as O&M are investing close to 1.5 per cent of their turnover in training.
"We are taking every step possible to make a career at Ogilvy so interesting, enjoyable and rewarding that nobody would ever want to leave," says Goodman.
Investment in training is vital, agrees Srivastava of JWT. "We as employers have to invest in our people and ensure that their learning curve is always up. If the staff knows that the agency takes keen interest in their personal and professional development, then there is no reason why they would not stay with us long enough for mutual ROI."
"I have always maintained that opportunity, investment and growth are very important in retaining people. Money, of course, is important, but we do overestimate its importance. If we can provide enough opportunities to our people to realise their potential, invest in them through training to develop their skill-sets and chart their career paths, we will be able to do a better job of retaining our people," says Rai of JWT.
It is culture that matters
However, Singh of Grey is not too sure whether training could be used as a tool to retain people. "It is a tool to make people better. People stay in a company because of its culture, the clients they work with and also the work environment."
Nitin Bhagwat, Executive Director, Interface, also believes that using training as a carrot to hold people will not help. "The glue would be the culture of a company. People have to believe that their company is a winner company. Only few quit a company because of money. Most of them do so because they are unhappy." However, Singh believes quality demands good money. "The industry is aware of it, and salaries revisions are being looked at," he says.
Mathai of FCB and Rao of O&M say talent crunch is definitely here to stay, and that the onus is on the agencies to offer a culture that will hold back people.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Grey Worldwide bags Deutsche Bank credit card business.
(Friday, Jan 20, 2006 - 06:00 pm)
Televisionpoint.com Team
Close on the heels of bagging the Rs 15 crore retail banking operations of Deutsche Bank, Grey Worldwide has snapped up the bank's Rs 10 crore credit card business in a high-pitched battle.
Grey has also cornered the Rs 5 crore 3M Bangalore and the Rs 5 crore Manipal Group account, catering to Manipal Hospital and educational institutions. The size of accounts snagged this month is Rs 20 crore. Deutsche Bank (DB), had a clear target when it set up operations in India last October. The bank, which offers current and savings accounts as well as investment and credit products, is targeting the increasing number of wealthy customers in the country.
Confirming the win, Nirvik Singh, president, Grey, said that it was a tough fight. "We had bagged the retail operations earlier and the recent rollout of creatives has been well received. We will now launch the credit card business in the country," he said.
Note, After a long phase of stagnation, the advertising spend in India has gone up strongly since last year and this year it jumped 14% to Rs 13,200 crore. Driving this has mostly been sectors like airlines, luxury brands and financial services. Ad spends of financial services companies almost doubled this year to over Rs 1,000 crore.
Televisionpoint.com Team
Close on the heels of bagging the Rs 15 crore retail banking operations of Deutsche Bank, Grey Worldwide has snapped up the bank's Rs 10 crore credit card business in a high-pitched battle.
Grey has also cornered the Rs 5 crore 3M Bangalore and the Rs 5 crore Manipal Group account, catering to Manipal Hospital and educational institutions. The size of accounts snagged this month is Rs 20 crore. Deutsche Bank (DB), had a clear target when it set up operations in India last October. The bank, which offers current and savings accounts as well as investment and credit products, is targeting the increasing number of wealthy customers in the country.
Confirming the win, Nirvik Singh, president, Grey, said that it was a tough fight. "We had bagged the retail operations earlier and the recent rollout of creatives has been well received. We will now launch the credit card business in the country," he said.
Note, After a long phase of stagnation, the advertising spend in India has gone up strongly since last year and this year it jumped 14% to Rs 13,200 crore. Driving this has mostly been sectors like airlines, luxury brands and financial services. Ad spends of financial services companies almost doubled this year to over Rs 1,000 crore.
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