Social media is good. A question mark or an exclamation mark

Before enlightening you with the different colours of social media, let me take you down the memory lane where we loved to share gifts, like each other’s slam books, comment about the girl who teased our best friend. Those beautiful days of going out and playing with friends, chatting for hours through our old antique telephones are somewhere vanishing between the dark long bushes of Internet.

Now the virtual age has taken over our mind, body and soul to which we are happily getting defeated with no wrench but with a smile on our face.

The era of digital world has risen

When our very own golden age is no more in action

Social Media creators are minting currencies

And we lay back in our bean bags surfing, liking and commenting in the open breeze

Those days have vanished

When birds were chirping & happily singing in full swing

As even our PM is now busy tweeting

Believe it or not

Social media has definitely made our life easy, sorted and connected,

But we somewhere have lost our self and have got disconnected

Even though we bombard numerous blemishes in Social Media, we can’t live even a single day without checking our updates on Facebook, browsing Instagram pictures, or to check who re-tweeted our post. Social Media is not only used by individuals to share their happenings but big brands are taking greater advantage of this emerging media. Social Media is cheap at the same time reaching millions. One of the officials of the big brand once said in an interview “Social Media is a blessing to all big brands like us. We now know where our target audiences are and this makes us easy to reach them”. Top Social Media  that are enjoying the bigger piece of cake are Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus and LinkedIn.

We all love social media. Whether you like to admit it or not, it's true. They have ingrained themselves in society because they make our lives better. No matter how bad your day has been, there is always something on social media that can make you smile and put everything in perspective. It’s shifting the way we interact, communicate, organize and form opinions.

                                                                                                                

Social Media is a boon which when wrongly used can turn to a curse. So the conclusion to “Social Media is good. A question mark or an exclamation” will and always remain a mystery.

The A to B of Selling….

Once upon a time there were two men (lets call them A and B). They both were fierce competitors of one another as a result of being in the same business – to sell!

Both had extremely intelligent strategies for their respective businesses. A’s business was to create awareness amongst the people about a product while B’s business was to make sure that the product lives up-to its name amongst the masses. Both of them were bright. But there was a problem. The growth of their respective businesses was stunted. No matter how hard they tried, no matter how smart they tried, they could not reach their goals.

Eventually on the verge of losing hope, they walked into a bar to drink their problems away (DUH!) Watching  the bartender mix their drinks, it struck them.

“What if we did the same to our businesses?”

They hurried back home and came up with a completely new and innovative strategy. They mixed their talents and resources together. As a result their business boomed.

A and B have been inseparable ever since. Their names were Advertising and Branding.

Advertising is a means of communicating the story of a brand to the audience, whereas branding refers to the building of the impression and reputation that the people have about a product and the process of trying to change or enhance it further. A brand emerges from the whole picture of what advertising does and  advertising emerges from creating brands.

Being an AD-MAD person myself, I may say that Advertising and Branding are the two most important questions for any business process. Unless you say ‘YES’ as an answer to both these questions, you might end up in a bar too (and not in a good way).

‘Advertising is not voodoo. The client could ultimately hope only to create the impression of a connection or resonance between the brand and what was important to consumers. And what was important to consumers was, always and invariably, themselves. What they conceived themselves to be’ -David Foster Wallace

The Left and Right Brain – in Conversation!!

Right brain (R) : Hey!

Left brain (L) : What ?

R : Whatchu doin ?

L : Doin some analytical thinkin.. I am stuck on this thing since last night without any solution. Its driving me crazy!

R : See now that’s the problem with you. Your ways are too… you know… ROBOTIC!

L: Really? So what according to you, shall solve my problem? Rainbow crayons and Unicorn stickers?

R: You can try. Wudn’t hurt you know.

L: You’ve got to be kiddin me.

R: I don’t mean to offend you but logical reasoning and experimentation are not the only things that are the essence of existence. There are other important things too.

L: PROVE IT.

R: Look you are doing it again .. .. Can you just, for once, think with your heart and not your brain?

L: You mean my full-sized aortic pump?

R: OH DEAR GOD! :X

L: Sorry but everything that’s been said or done has got to have some proof to it. Otherwise how can one believe in it?

R: Nobody has proved the existence of God. But people believe in Him, don’t they?

L: Well I don’t.

R: That is because you never see beyond experiments. There is a colourful world out there waiting to be explored and it needs an open mind. A mind that is free of rusty scientific locks and dusty analytical bolts!

L: Tell this to your doctor the next time you are down with diarrhoea. They will treat your runny system with an open mind without applying any medical-science locks and bolts whatsoever.

R: Dont you see that you are limiting your world ? Dont you see, that by defining one shortest pathway as your mode of travel you are missing out on the longest but the most beautiful one?

L: Like how?

R: ok,lets take an example of the problem on which you were stuck earlier. What was it about?

L: I was trying to prove this theory. I cannot get through a certain area in the flowchart which is quite convoluted, even for me.

R: ok, I don’t know one bit about your theory or what the hell a flowchart is,but i surely know the solution to your problem.

L:  And that is?

R:  TAKE A BREAK. RELAX. LISTEN TO SOME MUSIC. You were up the whole night. Clearly, you are not in the right state of mind to work. No wonder you are stuck. Indulge in some creative hobby for sometime. It will rejuvenate you. Once you take a fresh start with a fresh perspective at your problem, it will definitely resolve the issue you are facing. Creativity pays off in the weirdest of times.

L:  Utter waste of time. I shall utilise that time continuing at my work instead.

R:  Or you could try what i suggested and know that the Right brain is always right! If there was no creativity, everything would have been boring GREY. Just the way you are.

L:  Really? If there was no science you wouldn’t have known that the earth was round.

R:  Yeah, but if there was no art, you wouldn’t have known that the earth was so pretty.

L :  If there was no Math, you wouldn’t know that 1+1 is equal to 2.

R:  If there was no Creativity, you wouldn’t know that 1+1, if in love, is ONE not TWO..

L:  If there was no Darwin, you wouldn’t have known that we had all evolved over millions and millions of years into the human beings we are.

R:  If there was no Da Vinci, you wouldn’t have known what we are going to be evolved into, after millions and millions of years from now.

L:  I am responsible for Logic.

R: I am responsible for Love.

L: I am responsible for discovery.

R: I am responsible for curiosity. And you very well know curiosity if the first step towards discovery.

L: I made the “Eureka” moment happen.

R: I made the joyful endeavour that led to the “Eureka” moment.

L: So thats it.. i guess we have reached a deadlock. There is no end to this argument and there clearly are multiple outcomes to this probability.

R: You just said “WE BOTH WIN”, in Robotian.

L: Will relax and listen to some music now. Hope that helps me get to a solution about my problem.

R: I know that it will.

L: Yeah, and i agree to it with all my full-sized aortic pump. 

R: OH DEAR GOD ! 

Don't Need an AD agency….? Think Again!!

We are all aware of the phrase “selling ice to an eskimo.”Ofcourse , a  person who is really really amazing at his persuasive skills can achieve this feat.So where do you find such an individual? Two words – Advertising Agency. Ad agencies garner such talents in each and every prospect of their selling business which includes concept design,production,purchases right until the market reviews.

The first and foremost step is to identify and select the right agency for your business process which will harness the most out of your available resources -money being the pivotal one! The agency shall work according to your products, objectives, ethos, culture and will create an amazing advertising campaign that will SELL!
Some people believe that hiring an ad agency is a liability to their respective businesses. But the truth is that in these stressed economic times, an agency will think of a way which is distinct and powerful in terms of using the client’s “green color” to their optimum advantage.

This is exactly when a Full Service Agency like Thin- i Advertising & Branding Co. saves the day!

But why Thin-i ?

There is a jungle of ad agencies out there who have hired full time expertise to work on the areas of copy writing, concept creation and execution, art direction and planning. Making use of the talents of the people they have employed, they boringly work with a set goal in mind along a strict professional approach BLAH BLAH BLAH…We obviously undertake this universally observed pattern of work but we still show a much needed contrast.

The fact that makes Thin- i stand apart from the regular crowd and be distinguished is that we believe in ‘SEEING BEYOND’. The letter ‘i’ stands for iDEAS which iNSPIRE and lead to successful iNNOVATIONS. It also represents the iNSIGHTS from the world of iNFINITE iMAGINATION. Thin-i  believes in ideas that are –

• simple yet creatively and strategically inspired
• drive relevant brand differentiations
• unconventional & futuristic in approach
• bring a larger perspective to the brand
• creates a longer impact in the minds of consumers

Not being restricted within the explored world is our motto. We like to go through the wormhole and bring stories of parallel universes back with us…  :)

Talking of exploring stuff, brings us to BRANDS. The perception of a brand by the end user is extremely vital.  Thin- i knows that an increased perception and awareness, increases the chances of acceptance and longetivity of the brand in the minds of the consumers. They strive to build and sustain this image amongst the targeted audience. Transformation of a product or service into a brand is a slow and gradual process. Taking care of each and every phase of this transformation is Thin- i’s  job.

All said and done, to realize the perks that your business will receive you have got to hire the right ad agency. It will put all of its energies into building your brand in a compelling manner through creative strategy and marketing.

So the next time a man is trying to sell you ice in the Arctic, do not fail to ask him this– “ON BEHALF OF WHICH ADVERTISING AGENCY ARE YOU WORKING?”  

;)

THE AD-MAD RECIPE!

INGREDIENTS –

1. One whole advertising agency.
2. One tsp timid intern.
3. One freshly cracked client.
4. One tablespoon of a demented creative director.
5. A bowl of chopped craziness.
6. Freshly grated beauty of ideas, intelligence and charm.
7. A talented graphic artist.
8. A bucketful of PASSION fruit.

PROCEDURE :-

• Take one whole advertising agency and make sure it is firm and finely ambitious.
• Take years and years of experience, a spoonful of successes and failures, awards and rejections, rise and falls. Mix it all together to form a paste.
• Add this paste to the ad agency and let it marinate. The more the marination the better.
• In a separate pan, take one tsp of a timid and totally confused intern. Fry it on medium heat of deadlines until you get a nice aroma of intelligence and talent.
• Once the timidness and confusion starts to crackle, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
• Put the marinated ad agency and our freshly cooled intern in a mixer-grinder and blend them real nice. Now you have turned the intern into an employee.
• Introduce the employee with an important assignment from a freshly crackedclient.
• Let the employee simmer with the assignment on a low flame. Keep stirring the employee with the help of a demented creative director occasionally.(very important step)
• When you see the intern all red, boiling and blabbering with excitement successfully, turn off the heat and cover the idea with the lid of APPRECIATION.
• Pour the contents in a large bowl and add a dollop of amazing designs and typography to it. Place slices of passion fruit on the side of the dish to decorate. Now your advertisement is ready to eat.
• Watch this out of the box delicacy instantly connect with the people eating and raving about it. 
  SERVE HOT … BON APPETIT !!    :)

USEFUL TIPS :-

• If the intern is raw, wait until it is fully ripe and ready to be an employee before putting it in the mainstream advertising recipe.
• Always choose a “cuckoo” creative director. (They are the ones with the maximum stirring ability).

-STAY MAD, SEE BEYOND.
(Thin-i Advertising & Branding co.)

Coffeevertising… !!

So i woke up this morning in front of a mirror and this amazingly hideous person was looking back at me…For a minute there i thought that the ZOMBIE apocalypse had struck already. It took me a moment to realise – “Hey, that’s just me, without my morning coffee!

I very well know that every human who thinks that this dark beverage is their “YODA – the driving force”, shall agree with me.
COFFEE IS NOT AN ADDICTION – IT IS A RELIGION. For the people who proudly declare to being bitten by the advertising bug, it is a very common thing to be stuck at something stupid for hours on end and whine. You just have that one cuppa and – VOILA…….. yes…. you’re still stuck, but the whining sure is fun now

Coffee is such a widely practised ritual amongst the creative clan, i can actually imagine them waving pompoms and cheerleading –

“Coffee..Coffee it’s our drink!

If we don’t get it, we can’t think…!”

I work at this brilliant ad agency in Mumbai where I have been hired to THINK. They pay me for my ideas. I am so very glad that coffee isn’t a person. Because then it would have been really unfair if i didn’t split my pay cheque with it at the end of every month. Imagine the comfort of working in an environment where everyone is as crazy about coffee as you are…and that includes my creative director too… My boss is a very calm and composed lady. I have never seen her yell or go mad at anybody… (Yet!) But if a doomsday like this ever dawns upon me,
i already have thought of a solution to that –

Step 1. Retreat to a safe distance.

Step 2. Slide a mug of coffee at her.

Step 3. Wait for the calamity to pass.

That ought to put me in her good list for a while, because the kind of a coffee person that she is, somehow i believe, she carries an invisible sign above her head –
 “INSERT COFFEE TO BEGIN”

That’s the story of just one ad agency. There are a million more out there all around the world who breathe coffee day in and day out.
So much so that September 29 has been declared as ‘National Coffee Day’ in the U.S.

That’s a lot of talk for today. It’s time to go and brew myself a cup of freshly ground heaven. You keep watching this space for more interesting stories and anecdotes

– says the Coffeewriter *cough cough* i meant Copywriter, Thin- i Advertising & Branding Company.

Will she ever come back?

She was a happy go lucky girl. Full of life and exuberance. A girl who always wore a smile on her face, who always greeted people with a smile and a friendly hello! A brilliant cook, a graceful dancer, a caring daughter, a loving elder sister. She was everything that made her so special. But then, SOCIAL MEDIA happened…!

Like every new toy amuses a child, she got amused. But the only difference was, she never got bored of her new toy. In fact, her amusement kept on increasing with every passing day. She started spending hours in chatting with her long lost school friends. But sadly it made her forget about her parents sitting next to her, waiting for their turn to come.

The inventor had his good reasons to create SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM. But it was her fault that she carried away with it. Her friends taught her how to use it, but sadly no one taught her neither her friends that, where to stop!  The platform created to share knowledge, make worldwide friends and to bring the world closer, distanced her from the real world.

She is lost. Social Media has become her world. Her home. Her everything. We need to bring her back to the real world. The world where people Likes her for the person she is, where people Shares love, where people Comments for her generosity, where morning rises with tweeting of the birds not beeping of a cell phone. But the biggest question is, “Will She Come Back?”

          

If no one reads, then why do we write?

Don’t write so much! Write it short! Keep it simple and precise! Who’ll read such a long copy? Why write so much? These doubts and suggestions land me up with another set of questions, do people actually read ads or they just see visuals? It’s like asking, who came first egg or hen?  Answers are many, but conclusion ZERO!

The war between copy and visual is never ending! If it’s the visual that is going to take the cake, then why writers put so much effort to write in the first place. I’m sure these questions crossed every writer’s mind at some point of the time. As in an adagency every artist craves for something above the material aspects. We’re always looking for something more, that pat on back, that well done, that smile on readers’ face, creative satisfaction that brings change.

They say a picture says more than 1000 words. But if you ask me, a word creates 1000 pictures in mind. Different people interpret words in their own way. Like when I say LOVE, some of you will bring out the red rose that you have in your diary, some of you will think of your little toddler who’s waiting for you back home, some of you will remember the Aloo Paratha that your mother makes…!

In short, advertising is a creative agreement between Visual and Copy. Sometimes a visual drag the reader to headline; sometimes the headline brings him in the ad, in both ways the remaining element acts as a supporter. It need not be a long copy or an out of the box visual, just a simple piece of writing with an attractive visual is enough to take the reader on a journey that ends with him urging to own the product.So when next time your creative bud craves for a masterpiece of advertising, do ask yourself, I’m writing a creative piece of ad but is that enough?

The World of Advertising Exceptions

I get up every morning by 7 a.m. I take 8 hours sleep. I don’t have insomnia. I don’t have moustache, beard, or spikes. And I guess a girl with moustache and beard won’t look that appealing too.(kindly give a pause to your wild imagination.) I don’t smoke or drink. I hang out with my friends on every weekend. Yes, I have two days off on every alternate week.

By now you must have made your mind to close the article as you’re surely not here to read about my daily routine. I know it’s kind of boring too, but I don’t understand if the routine is so boring, why do we follow it so religiously?? And above all of it, I am not Rekha, Madhuri, Kareena or Alia, a celebrity whom you like to follow or read about. But maybe the next line will drag you back in the article. I’m from the industry, which has given Prasoon Joshi, R. Balki and many more such legends to the Bollywood, legends that are making their mark and creating difference.

I am from the advertising industry. An industry which is known for its creative work and with that also known more for people with the funky looks (girls with colored streaks, boys with funky specs, trendy  haircuts, and so on…), habits (smoking to release pressure, being in pressure all the time, drinking in sadness and drinking to give company to a friend in his sadness…) and behaviors (sleeping during the day, giving company to owls at night, meeting family on national holidays…). But this list comes with an asterisk as these could be worse if the deadlines are near.

Even I had the same impression about the industry. But it changed completely when I got to work in Thin-i. Thin-ian’s (our team) changed my perception. Yes, we (Thin-ian’s) belong to the same world as they all do, but we differ on the other parameters, we think different. Our work is funky, trend changing or to make it more convincing out-of-the-box, the term more frequently said by advertising professionals than actually used.

Though we call ourselves advertising aliens, we are just like others, but still different, as our thoughts set us apart.

You must be thinking, everyone says that, yes, right, everyone does, but very few actually show it through their work. And luckily we fall under that ‘very few’ category, as we believe it’s always beneficial to be on the minority side. So we really enjoy being so similarly different. As it sets us apart and still makes us a part of the advertising world.