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Walking like a man , hitting like a hammer , she’s a juvenile scam , never was a quitter , tasty like a raindrop , she’s got them hooked………Beyond words, we are talking women who have the marketers totally addicted to them today. Women who are liberal, financially independent and experimentative. Women who are actually going ahead and living the life of their dreams, and what’s more retailers are helping them do it.  

The past decade has seen host of products developed especially for women (not taking into account women centric products and products for which they are only decision makers). Be it a “The Pink Hutch Moto”  cellular phone which was released in a bright fuchsia shade only for women or two wheelers like “Hero Honda Pleasure” marketed solely to them. Citibank has a special credit card which is a treat for women as far as fabulous discounts in beauty and health products, entertainment and shopping go. Wrangler which is essentially a men’s brand and has a very macho cowboy image, came up with their women’s collection last year. 

In recent times, Glaxo Smithkline has introduced Women Horlicks, specially designed with HemoCal™ nutrients to help women feel 100% everyday. Your husband, your kids, your parents, your friends, your job, your pets, your neighbors, your plants. Everyone needs you. So does your body! goes the body copy of the Ad.Everyday on my way to work, I listen to 104. 8FM which is an exceptional women’s radio station. Not to mention that the tag-line goes “MEOW” (jeez) 

So what is really driving this phenomenon besides progression of women into free spirited, economically self-sufficient souls? 

Well, Its just that all promotional activities work with them. If truth be told, it might sound funny but what doesn’t work with men, works with them. Here are a few realities: 

• The average woman wears more than one hat. She tries to do her best as worker, mother, wife, daughter and friend but acutely feels the strain of multiple roles. Including this in the communication, can help the retailer win and keep her loyalty.
• Word of mouth tool is a huge success with them. They can go blah blah like no-body’s business.
• The “wife and mom-push” strategy works with them. They can push their husbands and kids to buy a brand (forcefully if required) that they are satisfied with. So with them you have add on loyalty
• Give them discounts and offers and they’ll buy the whole market.
• To them celebrity appeal is maximum since men celebrities are hot, women celebrities are motivators and little doggies are cute!  

Its true that women make more than 80 percent of the direct or indirect consumers today and David Ogilvy wasn’t lying when he said “The consumer is not a moron, she’s your wife.” So cheers to all the women. You’ve come a long way baby, keep it up.

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The Harry Potter books are a phenomenal success. From its conception and just a £1,500 ($3,000) advance for the first book, the Harry Potter brand was estimated to be worth U.S. $15 billion in 2007. Now available in 64 countries, Harry Potter is a truly global brand.

Nigel Hollis provides an interesting perspective in his recent post on the MB blog giving insights into the DNA of iconic brands, through an evaluation of the greatest iconic brands of recent times ‘Harry Potter’.

Hollis concludes on some lessons fledgling iconic brands can learn from Harry Potter. To become iconic, a brand must:
1. Have strong cultural roots
2. Be instantly recognizable
3. Be backed by a compelling story

SOURCE: MB ePerspectives

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After much deliberation over whether or not to begin writing on “food & eating out” on 2paisa, I have decided to at least attempt it. Because, 2paisa essentially aims to publish content that spans across genres. So, here goes!

Two weeks ago on my weekend visit to Pune, I re-discovered one of my old time favourite places from college days - A breakfast time and late evening light snack and tea place - The Yogi Tree.

“The Yogi Tree” is a 40-seater restaurant, very popular among the Oshoites, expat residents of Koregaon Park, young students and so on. They are known for their breakfast - where they serve omlettes, sandwiches, pancakes, soups and herbal teas. They are also known for their healthy wholesome food like brown rice, khichdi and brown bread. It’s a great place for organic food and for all those who are looking for those “in between meal snacks”.

The Yogi Tree is located in Koregaon Park - just stop at the famous German Bakery and turn left into the lane there. The Yogi Tree is open from 8 AM to 10 PM, 7 days a week.

I strongly recommend the ginger-honey-lemon herbal tea, the oolong tea (served in an exclusive fancy oolong bone china cup) and of course the pancakes (I prefer the nutella pancake, though the banana, apple ones are nice too).

Here are some pictures from The Yogi Tree, one of them also has the oolong cup on display!

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Hi.

It has been little more than a year since I began this web initiative of connecting all those individuals who wanted to write and express their point of view, but had no place to go to. An initiative that would chronicle everybody’s everyday experiences.

When I began, I had clarity on only one thing:-
There are too many places filled with expert comments and views. But, very few places with individual opinions and voices.

So, without any further thought 2paisa went online on December 16, 2006. Over the past year or so, with dedicated support and inputs from a pool of close friends and co-bloggers, 2paisa has found its true identity.

At 2paisa, you can contribute to the content published here; and, you can post content on what you feel like; on what you think is of importance and needs to be spoken about. Be it advertising, marketing, business, sports, movies, music, civic issues, environmentalism, and you name it! And, what’s more - you needn’t be an expert on any of the subjects you write on. You can offer a commentary on just about everything there is to comment upon. Give your 2paisa on anything you wish to.

As a special New Year gift to all readers and those who contribute to the content regularly, 2paisa is proud to announce the launch of its unique email service starting today. This web based email service is powered by Google and provides email which is more intuitive, efficient and useful. Also, when you’re on the go, you can take it all with you, with a downloadable mail application for BlackBerry devices. Being email powered by Google, the interface is similar to that of Gmail, and is very easy to use. This unique email service is available to all registered members of 2paisa. Email can be accessed at: http://mail.google.com/a/2paisa.org

This is how the interface of the 2paisa email looks:-

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those who are regular visitors to 2paisa. Keep coming back! And, for all those who are interested in writing > We’re listening here - editor@2paisa.org.

If you have suggestions for us, to improve this space and on what more this blog should be doing, write in - team@2paisa.org. And, give us your 2paisa worth of inputs. We really appreciate it. Nothing makes us happier than everyone with their own 2paisa comments!

Have a very happy and prosperous new year!

Cheers,
Editor.

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Recently two bird-lovers in Mumbai reported a shocking case of flamingo hunting at a place called Uran in Navi Mumbai. The two naturalists Nikhil Bhopale and Sudeep Athavale lodged a police complaint along with video evidence of how four flamingoes were shot dead by an unidentified person, who was bare-chested and wearing a pair of trunks.

On Sunday, I had gone to the Uran coast with my friend Sudeep Athavale to see the migratory birds that had arrived at the mud flats. As we reached the locality, we saw a man from the area shooting down flamingoes with a long-barrel gun.

~ Nikhil Bhopale as told to The Times Of India

It’s horrifying that protected migratory birds like flamingoes are being shot. The forest and police authorities must necessarily ensure the culprits are brought to book and a gross violation of the Wildlife Protection Act is not repeated.

Flamingoes are friendly, magnificent pink birds which migrate every winter and can be seen around the Navi Mumbai region. They are an endangered species and incidents such as these call for active participation on the part of wildlife and nature enthusiasts, to help bring knowledge of such incidents into the public domain and particularly to the knowledge of the concerned authorities.

Watch this interesting video of the flamingoes who migrate every year around the Sewri bay area in Mumbai. And, the next time you see or hear of anyone hunting this magnificent bird get in touch with your local police station.

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There are reportedly 12 million child labourers in India who sweat it out everyday in shops and factories for meagre pay or sometimes worse as bonded labourers, with no pay at all. Fourteen children were rescued from a building in New Delhi yesterday after a British newspaper reported on child labour, making clothes for international retailer GAP. There are hundreds of children in the particular area who work for more than 12 hours a day and if lucky, earn Rs 5000 a month.

The latest controversy surrounding GAP has resulted in a burst of activism, but if the police make the time or the effort, it’s easy to find hundreds of workshops that employ children in conditions that are often inhuman.

It’s common knowledge that in places like Okhla, Khanpur and Shahpurjaat there are several small factories and shops where children under 14 work endless hours.

~ Source: NDTV

In 1996, the Supreme Court issued guidelines for how to deal with child labour. The suggestions included providing employment to an older member of a family whose child earns a living. However, all the government has right now to tackle child labour, is an official penalty of a maximum of two years in prison, and the conviction rate is negligible.

Gap Inc had earlier issued a statement on the use of child labour in an unauthorised facility that produced a single product for the retail store. Gap says the order was subcontracted to an unauthorised subcontractor without the company’s knowledge.

Marka Hansen, President of GAP North America has said:

We strictly prohibit the use of child labour….In 2006 Gap Inc ceased business with 23 factories due to code violations. We have 90 people located around the world whose job is to ensure compliance with our Code of Vendor Conduct…As soon as we were alerted…we stopped the work order…

But Human Rights watch activists feel that stopping orders does not absolve GAP of the responsibility. The fallout is growing over child labour being used in Indian sweatshops to churn out garments for global high-fashion brands. Some of the worlds leading high street shops depend on labour from India. Outrage is growing across Europe and the international media has reacted sharply to GAP’s use of child labour.

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In a fast moving market environment marketers are competing with one another by making small improvements to their products. Making them visually more appealing, less costly, etc. Then competitors make a countermove, and, in the end, market share moves slightly, if at all. In thinking small, companies miss out on the chance to reap greater success. David Aaker has some interesting advice to offer to marketers of this age: Thing BIG.

Instead of trying to influence what brand people buy, they should be focusing on what people buy. To win market share, don’t try to influence what brand of product people buy. Change how they use the product in the first place.

~ David Aaker

David Aaker has some interesting advice to offer to marketers of this age: Thing BIG. Check out this piece by Aaker in The Wall Street Journal.

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It was an absolute firepower performance put up by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the young Indian team against favourites Australia in Durban at Kingsmead, last night.

It was refreshing to see each one of the young Indian players playing on field in full throttle mode during every minute of the game. Dhoni’s leadership has most definitely renewed my faith in the Indian cricket team. The young team, just like their young captain, plays in an absolute ‘no fear’ fashion. In fact, I was surprised when Dhoni let young and inexperienced Joginder Sharma bowl the last over (off which the Aussies needed 22). But, later when I heard what Dhoni had to say at the presentation ceremony about their game plan, etc. – I felt once again the same passion I felt for Indian cricket once.

Here’s to hoping the renewed passion and enthusiasm takes the team to greater heights from hereon – and hopefully to a world cup title soon!

Chak De India!

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I had the pleasure of witnessing one of the recent finds of the comedy circuit, recently - Danny Bhoy (of Scottish and Indian descent). He was performing live in Mumbai at the St Andrews Auditorium a few days ago. Before I went for the show, I hadn’t heard of him.

While most successful stand-ups rely on satires on religion, caste and origins, it isn’t so with him.

“It’s very hard for a stand-up to know what he can and can’t talk about. Worldwide, opinions change so quickly. A religious joke might go down well in one part of London, but not so well in another. For me, racism is completely off the menu. But I have seen comics do brilliant satires on religion that get misinterpreted as racist.” - Danny Bhoy

It’s interesting to see how stand up comedians can be funny (read: genuinely funny), without having to resort to racist and religious satire. He also strays away from doing jokes about his Indian origin, unlike many other stand up comedians of Indian origin.

“I want to go to as many different places I can and perform comedy and adapt and adjust and metamorphose, so the idea of doing jokes about being half-Indian doesn’t interest me at all, I’d rather just do good jokes,” he says.

Check out few of these videos of his performances >>

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