Share information, win the game

Share information, be popular. (c) www.morguefile.com

Information is power. Isn’t it? So why not hoard information and remain powerful? Well, it was the thinking few years ago. Nowadays if you hide information, you will no longer remain powerful. The information seeker will google it, bing it and get the required data. And you will feel ostracised at the end.

I recall a widely circulated anecdote. Once a man approached a mason laying bricks. On being asked what he was doing, the man nonchalantly said, “Well, don’t you see, I’m laying bricks.”

The man then went to another man who too was laying bricks. Nearby was standing the foreman. He was supervising the masons. When he posed the same question to the second mason, the foreman took over and said, “We are building a wall.”   

Getting a different answer, he thought of contacting the contractor who was in-charge of the construction. The contractor welcomed him to his office, offered a cup of coffee and explained, “See, we are coming up with one of the largest churches in the neighbourhood.”

Now, you can see the difference.  Had the mason known of the bigger picture, he would have taken his job more seriously.  The foreman would have gone an extra mile to be a proud partner in constructing the landmark.  

This makes the difference. It’s not only about sharing the information, but showing the bigger picture to your teammates. So that you come together as winning team. And accomplish your goals. Efficiently. Effectively.

Three easy steps to developing knowledge and learning

First identify the knowledge theme, then start developing
knowledge products. (c) www.morguefile.com

Working as a knowledge worker, the most difficult task that I have come across is knowledge extraction and creation. While adapting, structuring, and sharing aspects of knowledge management are a bit easier, the knowledge developing seems a daunting task, especially when you start from the scratch. If you are to extract knowledge and learning from a project during a stated period, you need to first set the knowledge agenda. To set the agenda, identify the themes around which you want to develop the knowledge and learning. As the project progresses, you will come across some obvious knowledge and learning. However, at the beginning of the project you will need to identify the themes based on the project design document.

Knowledge themes and key questions
The knowledge themes could be gender and social inclusion, commercialisation, sustainability and so on, depending on the project document. After identifying the knowledge themes, discuss with the stakeholders and find out the key questions that will lead to developing knowledge and learning under each theme. For instance, under the theme gender and social inclusion, one of the probable questions can be, “What are the effective ways of targeting women and disadvantaged groups?” Similarly, you can collect a set of questions by interviewing the stakeholders, asking them what they expect to learn from the project.

Knowledge sharing mechanisms and tools
Following the identification of knowledge themes and collection of key questions, list out the knowledge sharing mechanisms and tools best suited to capture the key learning. The knowledge sharing mechanism can be a success story, a case study, a practice paper, a practice brief, a manual, a guideline, a website and so on.

Knowledge matrix with deliverables
After listing out the knowledge sharing mechanisms and tools, develop a knowledge matrix comprising columns for knowledge theme, knowledge sharing mechanism and deliverables. Talking with your team and management, decide which mechanism is best suited to capture the learning of a particular knowledge theme. Looking after your team’s capabilities and duration, fix the number of deliverables you want to come up with. For instance, to develop knowledge and learning under the theme gender and social inclusion, you might choose to go for two case studies and three success stories in a year. Likewise, to develop a knowledge product under the theme sustainability, you might go for a collaborative research.

4 I's of advertising

I was watching a crucial cricket match and the advertisers were playing with my sentiments every time the over ended. They flashed the same advertisement again and again, sometimes even between the overs. Now, you can imagine – you'll start hating the product even though it is a good one.

You can take the case of Prasanna. He has promised never to buy Shivam Cement. 

I've made my decision. Be it a win or a loss for #Nepal in the #NepvsHK match, I'm never ever buying Shivam Cement.
— Prasanna KC (@KC_Prasanna) November 27, 2013

Here comes the importance of first I.

Intermittent intervals. You should never bombard your viewers with your advertisements too frequently. Your advertisements should be placed at intermittent intervals.

Innovative ideas. Like you hear all the time, think out of the box. The pop-up 3D advertisements really catch your eyeballs. Have a look at the below advertisement and tell me you were not inspired.

Had a reason to drag these jaw-dropping 3D posters into a conversation today. Dragging them here too. #advertising pic.twitter.com/EE8I5EYSDY
— Tom Mason (@totmac) September 6, 2013

Now have a look at these. What a great way to use the space!

Cool lift advertising I just spotted in Reading for Super Mario 3D World pic.twitter.com/P17YOFFBV3
— DS Community (@dscommunity) November 20, 2013

Inspirational taglines. Now don't say, you don't need inspiration. Everybody needs a dose of inspirational quote to start the day with. And if you are wise enough, inspire the consumers, in-between the copy or the tagline.

Just check out few inspirational taglines.

Think different.                    Apple computer

Have it your way.                Burger King

Relax, it's FedEx.                FedEx

If you want the whole bunch of inspiring taglines, visit Taglineguru.

Interactive advertising. Make it interactive. Meaning be with the time, use different cognitive tools to get your message across. A perfect example is Domino's UK spoofing the concept of British Airways' interactive "Look Up" billboard with a kid pointing at airplanes as they fly overhead by.

The British Airways billboard pointed to planes while displaying their flight numbers and trajectories, so the Domino's version is a kid pointing down at pizza delivery drivers, with different messages about where each pizza is headed.

See the commercial.
 

Now the question to you, do you know more I's of advertising? You are welcome to add to the list.

And don't forget to follow Gabriel Beltrone's column in the Adweek.

The conundrum called internal communications

Though we harp about communicating with external audiences, we fall short in communicating well within our organisation and with our colleagues. While communicators disseminate success stories from the field to a wider audience through internet, print and electronic media, the voices within the organisation remain unheard. 

Most of us are glued to internet and social media all the time, but we feel it unnecessary to visit the company intranet. We are busy gossiping about the stars and their tantrums but don't know what our colleague in next cubicle is doing.

Here comes the role of internal communications. Be it through memos, emails, weekly meetings, company e-newsletters, intranet, blogs or informal social gatherings, the conversation has to take place between the employees. 

Efficient internal communication creates an aura of openness in an organisation. Everyone is informed and up-to-date about the happenings within the organisation. Be it a new baby born to a colleague or a major funding awarded to the headquarters. Both the information are equally important to build a better performing team where people trust each other and no one is taken back by surprises.

There are organisations where hierarchy prevails and junior employees fear even to knock the door of their supervisors. However, most organisations are breaking down the barriers and building an environment that allows anyone to talk to anyone. It promotes good relations and team spirit. People feel like they are working as a single team to achieve the goal of the organisation and the organisation turns into a pleasant place to work.

I am impressed by a team of professionals who hike together every Sunday. On the way, they carry their DSLRs, click pictures and post it to the corporate blog. It not only highlights their talents but also encourages others to join them on the next hike. On the way they chat a lot, eat together and sometimes engage in a corporate social responsibility (CSR) stuff. I have seen them emerge much happier after donating stationeries to the underprivileged children in rural schools. In their case, the hike has really broken down the hierarchies and solidified the team spirit.      

It's the age of information and people are hungry for information to excel in their respective jobs. Efficient internal communication improves the effectiveness of an organisation by providing the needed information to the employees on time. Many CEOs post their views on their corporate blogs and employees are free to comment and put forward their suggestions. Hearing from the chief about the recent happenings in the organisation keeps the employees well informed and it creates an environment of trust among them.

Likewise, the monthly e-newsletter about the happenings within the organisation does wonders. Even the weekly all staff meeting keeps people well informed on what each of them are involved in. If the employees are well informed, the organisation has a better chance to respond to a change, crisis or emergencies. It also promotes fairness within the organisation. If everyone has equal access to information and to everyone else, nobody feels that he or she is left out in the decision making process and somebody else is more privileged. Employees feel that they are equal in the eyes of senior management and the jealousy among them is kept at bay.

I have seen brainstorming sessions being organised by companies involving all staff. An organisation benefits by the ideas put forward by its employees. The sparking idea can come even from a cross-cutting staff who has nothing much to do with the programme stuff. It encourages employees to give a voice to their ideas and opinions to take ahead the organisation. They feel proud to be a part of problem-solving team and feel that their opinions and ideas are listened and valued by the management.  

I would never forget the informal gatherings organised by my supervisor. Sometimes, after a hard day's work he used to treat us to a sumptuous meal and few drinks. The informal environment during the dinner and drinks installed helping-each-other spirit more than ever. Our department was recognised as the most efficient and productive department in the organisation and our team the most terrific. We owe this to the occasional gathering.

While talking about internal communications, we should never forget the organisational culture and system of the organisation. There should be some decorum regarding the flow of information. The memos, mails and other types of communication should follow some standards. The company intranet should be an open space where the employees can interact with their far-off colleagues and share their experiences with each other.

I don't think managing internal communications would be a tough nut to crack if we just keep in mind these simple things. Otherwise, as in most of the cases, it would be a conundrum hard to solve for the management.       

Which one would you go for? A print ad or an infographic?

As an advertiser, I am a fan of witty print advertisements. As a development practitioner, I have faith on infographics. I see a lot of similarities and at the same time many differences between these two.

A print ad generally comprises of an interesting opening headline, a sleek body copy, an engaging punchline and an eye-catching visual. Likewise, an infographic consists of an opening headline, a lengthy body copy of data inter-mixed with eye-catching graphics (motifs), a tagline and a link to further information.

The headline of both the advertisement and infographic should be interesting, witty and sexy. It should surmise the content following it. I don't see any difference between headlines of an ad and an infographic.

However, there is a vast difference between the body copy of a print ad and an infographic. In a print ad, lesser the text, better the ad. In an infographic, staggering the data, better the information. The name, infographic is combination of information and graphic. It is basically data sorted, arranged and presented visually. A copywriter tries to abridge the content while a visualizer tries to arrange the data into segments along with graphics.

In a print ad, an advertiser uses a relevant picture, illustration or typography to make it visually inviting. However, in an infographic, a visual artist uses motifs, graphics that are placed aside the data to make it interesting. The numbers and visuals are highlighted to seek the attention of the reader.             

The punchline of both an advertisement and an infographic needs to be engaging, instigating interest in the audience to look for further information. Mostly in case of an infographic a web link is provided at the end so that the reader can visit the website for more information. Nowadays, the advertisers also provide web links at the bottom of the ad. Earlier advertisements used to have no web links and no contact address which used to leave the reader guessing about the product.

Now, the purpose – an advertisement is targeted to the consumers and is completely commercial. While an infographic is more of an advertorial with enough information for a researcher, student and likes. Its purpose is to teach through graphics.

To me both the print ad and infographic can be used interchangeably with little changes suiting to the needs of the target audience. An infographic needs wittiness of a print ad and likewise, a print ad needs well-researched data of an infographic.

With humans being busier than the bees, infographics are gaining popularity more than ever. Now you can just scan and skim through the data without feeling bored. I wonder if the future books will be written in infographics. In a lighter tone – the books in infographics might turn into hieroglyphs – the images that tell the Egyptian history.   

To find the difference, have a look at a creative ad and an infographic.

 

 

5 branding lessons from bodybuilders

Gym: A hotbed of branding ideas. (c) www.morguefile.com

Being a gym freak and a brand enthusiast, I always compare the learning at the gymnasium with the steps of building a brand. Here are some nuggets of knowledge I learnt from gymming.

Try doing opposites
Super sets – doing a mix of exercises without rest especially involving opposite muscles – build muscle faster. Practised by Arnold Schwarzenegger, it helped him win Mr Universe title for five years and Mr Olympia for seven years. In bodybuilding doing opposites at a regular interval enhances your muscles' growth.

However, doing opposites is a totally crazy thought in branding where brand managers strive to create a consistent brand image. Ever thought of Coca-Cola producing a whiskey? Well, sometimes it can work wonders. A tooth paste brand can sell a tooth brush, a shaving cream brand can promote an after-shave and a tea brand can market its own brand of cookies.      

Heard about the Post-it invention? Actually Dr Spencer Silver wanted to develop a super-strong adhesive for 3M. However, he accidentally created a "low-tack", reusable, pressure sensitive adhesive that brought a revolution. It was used to create the ubiquitous sticky notes. And the rest is history.

Tweak your regular regimes
In bodybuilding you need to deviate from your regular workout schedule, at least once a month. If you tweak your regular regimes, the muscles get teased and you grow muscles at a faster pace.

Similarly, innovation doesn't come from regular work. Had Nokia kept on producing galoshes, it would not have delved into cellular phone making business. Again it kept producing the regular cellular phones and had to be left behind in the race of producing smartphones. Eventually, it had to be sold out to Microsoft.

So, the message is – keep on tweaking the original. Never stop thinking outside the box.

Diversify your portfolio
For developing a particular muscle you need to do different sets of exercises impacting different muscle parts. It helps the muscles grow uniformly. Can you grow biceps just doing barbell curls? Never. You need to do preacher curls, concentration curls, dumbbell curls and hammer curls along with the barbell curls for beautiful biceps.  

Likewise, you need to build a portfolio of diverse products to build a stronger brand. Earlier it was thought that indulging in diversification would make you lose focus. But the times they are changing. Take example of Samsung – it not only produces home appliances, TVs, cameras, laptops and tablets, but is a leader in smartphone business.

Diversifying your portfolio decreases the risk of sinking down. It has become a truth in the tumultuous market.   

Warm up is necessary
You might have heard from your trainer, "Don't start lifting weights without proper warm up."  You must do the warm up exercises before the main regime to prevent sprains and strains.

So is the case in branding. Before launching a brand, the most important thing is building a story around the brand. These days, gossiping in Facebook and Twitter is good to create a buzz prior to the launch. Like teaser ads in earlier days, the word of mouth creates excitement among the consumers and your brand gets a warm reception.

Concentration is of the utmost importance
Concentration curls are very effective and peak your biceps, especially the outside part. It's called "concentration" because you need to concentrate on your biceps contraction while doing this exercise. Not only in case of biceps, you need to concentrate on the movements of each muscle while gymming.  

Like in gymming, to create a brand, you need to concentrate equally on each spheres of human experience. Be it the public sphere, where you move from one place or activity to another in the physical and virtual worlds or the social sphere, where you interact with and relate to one another. Be it the tribal sphere, where you affiliate with groups in order to express your identity, or the psychological sphere, where you connect language with specific thoughts and feelings.

So, now don't you feel bodybuilding and branding have lots in common? If you can relate more examples, you are welcome to add to the list. 

Ads, Hindu gods, goddesses and controversies

 In advertising, what sells apart from sex? Elegance, charisma and wit.

On the contrary, a recent campaign created by the ad agency Taproot India shows the most revered Hindu goddesses Laxmi, Durga and Saraswati as the victims of domestic violence. Laxmi, the goddess of wealth known for her elegance has a swollen lip and cut on her nose. The goddess of strength Durga's charisma is shadowed by cuts on her forehead and cheek. And the goddess of knowledge Saraswati's wisdom is marred by a bruised eye and blood-dripping lips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Pray that we never see this day," the ads read. "Today, more than 68% of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow, it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones we pray to." The ads have gone viral and blogs and online portals are awash with news and comments on the ads.

The "Abused Goddesses" campaign images were created by mixing modern-day photography using live models with traditional hand-painted Indian art. They were commissioned by Save the Children India for its Save Our Sisters initiative, which, works to prevent the sex trafficking of young girls and women.

While the campaign aims to shock and horrify the audience with its powerful text and images, a large segment of Hindus still don't want to see their goddesses abused. 

Earlier, Burger King had issued an ad showing Laxmi, along with one of the beef burgers, which are forbidden under Hindu religion. The fast food chain was forced to withdraw the ads from its stores in Spain owing to the hue and cry of Hindus across the world complaining of the denigration of their religion.

 

In a similar move, the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi used images of Hindu gods in their advertising for a Goa tour operator, Cox & Kings. In the ads, Goddess Laxmi was shown sitting next to a chubby kid eating wafers, and Lord Hanuman was shown taking pictures with a camera. After Hindus ransacked Cox & Kings' office, the company ran a front page apology in a local newspaper apologising for the ads and blamed the agency for publishing the ads without its consent.

 

Likewise, designer and model Lisa Burke infuriated the Hindus during Australian Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011/12 in Sydney when she presented a swimsuit featuring Laxmi as a part of the latest collection of her Lisa Blue label. After protests across India she announced a halt in production and vowed that the Laxmi swimsuit would never make it to stores.

 

In 2012, Burnside Brewing Company, a Portland-based American brewery was to launch "Kali-Ma Beer". Owing to protests from Hindus, the company postponed the limited release of "Kali-Ma Beer". The beer was earlier announced as spiced wheat ale involving cardamom, fenugreek, cumin, India dandicut peppers, etc., and showed the picture of Goddess with six arms and three severed heads.

In William Bernbach's words, "Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art." However, to cut the long journey short, the advertisers are lured to creating controversies to persuade the consumers to buy the products. And what's easier than manipulating imagery of gods and goddesses to hatch a controversy? That's also an art. 

Photo credits:
Abused Goddesses campaign (c) scoopwhoop.com
Burger King ad (c) EUROPICS
Model with Hindu goddess on the swimsuit (c) Mark Nolan/Getty Images