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

Animal Kingdom Advertising!!

This is the time for a song,a song that we sing
When the rains are drawing near, and the mirth – dark clouds bring.
To look for a partner, to look for a friend,
wide and beautiful, my joyous wings would bend.
For the peacock always knows and the peacock always shows,
how important it is to advertise, the thought that my plumage holds!!

Hot, scorching and dry.. More lonely-less humid,
leaving trail in the desert ..while searching for cupid.
Yes you should fear me, the way i fear you too,
rattling of my tail, is all i can do.
Finding my prey and making the presence felt,
advertising brings a lot, under the rattle snake’s belt.

We toil day and night, work our way to glory.
Never do we fail, never are we sorry.
Keeping our unity intact is our only goal,
working with teamwork and belief in our soul.
For we spread our pheromones, so that our brothers never lose the way,
ants shall always prefer the sunshine,for branding bright hay!

I sing through the dark, I sing towards dawn,
Pitch black as I am, like the chess’s favourite pawn.
With a voice like velvet, too laborious to resist,
very classy, very sweet-with an addictive twist.
Nightingale they call me, deemed with pride,
vocal advertising takes me–farther than my wings can ride!

Fallen stars on the earth, that’s what we are,
flickering here and there, illuminating way beyond par!
Call me a firefly, call me a glow worm,
I shall make my peace,and associate with any term.
Once you’ve touched me, you shall never be glum,
the reason is that I carry, magical light on my bum.

I am making a humble abode, please do not disturb,
for I want to lure the prettiest lass, statuesque and superb.
Will she like these flowers, or would she settle for the leaves?
Shall I use both, so to her it may please?
With pebbles and stones, or little twigs as her prize,
The love of a bower bird, for her would advertise!

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?”  

;)

You think you belong in the Advertising Industry …Really?

Keep going downtown to find out if you possess 1 or more or all of the following super powers that are mandatory to survive in the world of creativity –

**Comment your score below :

1. You are smirking at the word “downtown”   ;)
2. No matter how hard you tried during those school days, you always got a stupid “C” in Math. 
3. If you had to choose between coffee and coffee,you would always choose coffee!
4. Your daily dose of entertainment whilst growing up was watching The Powerpuff girls, Dragonball -Z, Bob the Builder and Samurai Jack with a bowl of cereal.
5. You have just realised you need to download all of the Dragon ball-Z webisodes.
6. Every time a client disapproves an awesome idea of yours, you want to scream Bloody Murder… But you cant!
7. There have been more clumsy and awkward moments in your life than the “oh so pretty” ones.
8. You think all of your work is exceptional even when it is as dumb as a rock paddling with one oar!
9. HOLIDAY every SATURDAY – your motto!
10. You don’t believe in racism .. You hate everybody equally.
11. You like to visualise meaningful shapes out of the clouds in the sky and then laugh about the obscene ones.
12. You like to check your phone every 2 minutes (Ok, this can be universal).
13. No matter how many times you watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S, you just can’t get enough of it.
14. You decide on buying a Louis Vuitton upon receiving your next salary but somehow end up buying a vegetable sandwich.
15. You helplessly watch all your money vanish in thin air within the first few days of every month.  :(
16. If you are a copywriter, you are a thorough worshipper of the
Greek God – THESAURUS.
17. You have picked your nose in your boss’s office when they were not around.
18. Two minute noodles come to your rescue when you are famished due to working late in the office.
19. You are always working late in the office.  :/
20. If you don’t make it to the deadline, you are dead.
21. A client will never understand/approve a visually tantalising presentation of yours…you know, because they know so much!
22. Then they will look at you in despise as if you sport eleven fingers and a giant booger!
24. You can extract creativity out of any situation – Even when your boss is yelling at you,their shadow takes the shape of a creature with horns,a tail and friggin trident.
25. You feel betrayed when someone tells you, “Hey look, the idea you just cooked up is already present on the internet ”.
26. When you were 10 you had no idea what you wanted to be.. Now that you are 25, you have no idea what you want to be.
27. You are wondering how long does this list go ?
28. You can never decide which of your dragons should win the duel occasionally hosted by you in your head.
29. Now you are imagining dragons and did not realise that number 23 is missing in this list.
30. Red appeals to you more than any other colour.
31. You have imagined being in a Batman suit and saving the world atleast once in your life.
32. You like criticizing others work. You hate being criticized by others on your work.
33. You very well know – “inspired” is a fancy name for “hell yeah, its a copy!”
34. You believe that the Homo Sapiens Sapiens who practice grammatically incorrect and improper English should be executed!
35. You can’t remember your damn passwords.
36. You spend most of your time on Pinterest surfing for “inspirational” ideas.
37. You cannot get your creative juices flowing unless there is music around.
38. The service technician/networking guy will fix your computer and as soon as he leaves, the damn thing will roll back to the same problem.
39. You have recently started realising that you are socially boycotted.
40. You have lost the right to expect a 9 to 5 job ….PERMANENTLY and FOREVER.
41. You hate Justin Bieber….too!
42. You have lost the right to say NO…  PERMANENTLY and FOREVER.
43. Everytime somebody ranks Game of Thrones over LOTR, you want to knock the bejesus out of them – because Harry Potter is the best.
44. When you were looking for your first ever job, you were offered an internship that paid “pebbles” which weren’t even round.
45. Now you have landed a great job which pays round “pebbles”.
46. A brilliantly made advertising campaign or a creative idea sets off the happy tears and you resemble a school girl from some Japanese anime.
47. When you were a fresher, you were picked on by your colleagues like the weakest member of the herd!
49. Every night before going to sleep you pray to Superman that the poor little squirrel from Ice Age gets its acorn soon.
50. My boss was wearing a stunning Emerald green blazer today. (I know its irrelevant to the post but I cudn’t think of anything else to put at the last position)

– “STAY MAD .. SEE BEYOND!”
Thin-i Advertising & Branding Co.

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?