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From the Lens of a Media GURU

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From the Lens of a Media GURU

Fouad Husain, Managing Director Mindshare Pakistan talks about innovative practices that are necessary for our media industry to grow.

Synergyzer: What growth potential do you see in the advertising pie for TV, Radio, Print, Outdoor and Digital Media for this year?
Fouad Husain: With new eyeballs contributing towards the surge in viewership, the chunk of TV in the pie has maintained its leadership with an increase. New channels have helped in getting new audiences on board while content diversity is aiding in maintaining the highest share.
The outdoor medium has most recall and penetration according to various research studies in Pakistan especially in rural markets, therefore, brands will be focusing on invigorating this particular medium.
Print and radio have been sustaining their share but we need to push fresh ideas to better utilize them.
As for the digital front, it’s too early to predict its future as it is still too young a medium. However, brands are focusing on it and it has immense potential. It is safe to say that this will further grow given the right governmental and regulatory support.

Synergyzer: You said in an interview that the movers and shakers of the industry are not properly aware of the upcoming trends, technological shift, and where they are heading. How can they be educated for something like this?
Fouad: This can be done in two ways. One, all the broadcasters come under one platform and be on the lookout for international exposure as they are all working towards acquiring content. Second, Media Agencies which have international exposure bring the broadcasters together to hunt for international opportunities and gather intelligence on them.

Synergyzer: Are media buying houses in Pakistan opting for international standards? How? What is your role as a thought and result leader?
Fouad: Yes indeed they are. Keeping Mindshare as a case in point, I can tell you that we work closely with our regional teams and apply complete Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs driven from them We keep our talent updated by exercising rigorous international training programs to gather foreign exposure. My role in this process is to identify such trends as I have the most exposure in the region, therefore, it naturally becomes my job to outlay any opportunity or learning for my teams.

Synergyzer: With relaxing censorship policies being exercised in advertising content, what advantage has that given the media industry? Any disadvantages?
Fouad: Where relaxation in censorship policies has given the media industry more freedom of speech and liberty to diversify the content that gets to be aired, it has also had its share of disadvantages. For example, the acceptability of international creative elements has hampered the creative room for our local talent and teams. It’s easier for advertisers to acquire and adapt their regional communication ideas which lead to depriving the local creative teams of their inputs.

Synergyzer: We see a number of award festivals being held for advertising like the Abby Awards etc. Are there any such events for media strategies and execution? If yes, how can Pakistan represent itself?
Fouad: All the MNC media groups and agencies or those that are internationally affiliated do have their internal global award festivals. What we need to focus on is that all agencies combine their efforts and represent Pakistan as a nation on international forums.

Synergyzer: How do PAS policies affect the media business? Is PAS as strong in enforcing its policies as APNS is for the print media?
Fouad: PAS has taken some good initiatives in the past; however, it is still too young in comparison to APNS to be able to enforce strict policies. PAS needs to focus on maintaining a balance between safeguarding all ends such as Media Agencies, Advertisers (Clients) and broadcasters on the whole.

Synergyzer: As more and more media buying houses are starting creative hotshops, what effect is it having on the advertising industry? What is your take on that?
Fouad: With new content hotshops entering the market, advertising is continuously getting a new perspective. Advertisers, along with media agencies are helping in converting a 30 second spot into a new horizon for communicating with audiences. This we can see through multiple examples that have come up in the recent past such as Cornetto Music Icons and Smash.

Synergyzer: If you have to brand and promote Pakistan what will be your selling points?
Fouad: I would promote Pakistan on the basis of the geographical bliss it has to offer. Pakistan has great potential for tourism with the geography it has been blessed with.

Branding Identity

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Branding Identity

The dynamic Farhad Karamally tells Synergyzer the insights of branding a nation in his natural and simple style.

Synergyzer: Let’s begin with the most important question. What, in your opinion, are the mechanics for branding any country?
Farhad Karamally: Cool! Like any product, service or organization, a country too needs to be looked at as a commercial product that needs to make itself attractive on the ‘global shelf space’, offering itself distinctly as a brand. At the end of the day, a brand is merely a PROMISE that a customer or beneficiary expects.
First and foremost, a country needs to commit behind one brand identity. To discover what it is, my advice is to do a competitive analysis, and identify the unique selling proposition of the country as compared to others. Once you know what it is that makes a country special and distinct from the others, you have an identity that needs to be promoted.
When a nation wants to get into this exercise of branding, all its public & private sectors and the whole infrastructure including the economic machinery needs to get aligned and work hand-in-hand for the promotional exercise to be carried out. Government, policies have to be in place to drive the nation in one charted out direction. The private sector needs to be incentivized to contribute to the brand building whilst the public sector must be developed to live up to the promise being promoted. This is internal brand building.

Synergyzer: How can internal branding campaigns bring a change in any country?
Farhad: Internal branding can be a first step to get people to start thinking in a particular direction. For instance, when the war ended in Sri Lanka, they led an internal movement called Mother Sri Lanka through which the message was sent out that this is any Sri Lankan’s mother nation. This was a brilliant internal branding strategy to bring the nation as one. Again, you need to be unified internally before moving towards communicating to the world.
We need to understand that no country is perfect and there are issues in every country. Yet, the intent that this is ‘MY COUNTRY’ should be over and above personal biases and personal motives. A country is made of its people. There are policies drafted, an agenda is pulled together and then implemented. The whole mechanism, including politicians, ministries and the media, should work together for it. Public departments should be trained to reflect cohesiveness with the system.

Synergyzer: How can we brand Pakistan internationally?
Farhad: This is a tough question and many readers may find my response disturbing and something they would disagree with. But anyways

Lets do a current analysis first and see how it is being perceived currently and whether that perception needs changing. Pakistan, for example, gets a lot of negative publicity from international media, as well as a number of films that project it as a hub of radicalism, illegal arms and militant training. Hypocrisy is another trait that we get attributed with due to the kind of liberties we take for ourselves, while brandishing other nations and religions for similar notions. Hence, as a nation we have to educate ourselves on how we are supposed to act as the limelight is continuously upon us.
Having said the above, we can still work on rebranding. There is no point in defending the above accusations. Actions always speak louder than words. It is time Pakistanis change their collective actions by first focusing on their internal branding and then showing the world what Pakistan really is as a brand.
The first step is to do a competitive analysis and understand our unique proposition. Now, I have not done this for Pakistan in particular but perhaps, as many would say, our youth is our biggest strength. Then lets promote the fact that we have a high number of entrepreneurs and a population that comprises majorly of youth. We can use these to our advantage to brand the country in the international arena as a hub for entrepreneurs. In the input to output ratio, Pakistan is in the top three most innovative country. This is special. Why not promote ‘Jugaad’ as a positive trait that is driven by talent and operational excellence!

Synergyzer: How would you compare the human capital in Pakistan versus internationally?
Farhad: We can’t compare the human capital of any country with another. Every culture has its norms and practices which craft a nation with different outlooks and people behave accordingly, therefore, it’s unfair to say one person has more talent than other. In a nutshell, God has created us; He did not create boundaries or religious differences. We are just developed differently.

Synergyzer: How can Pakistanis who are living and studying abroad promote their country?
Farhad: Pakistanis living abroad should focus on consistency, especially for their work. I am not going into detail but consistency is a big challenge. Additionally, the Pakistani community staying abroad must focus on building bridges through networking. As opposed to hanging and socializing with ‘our own’ people, we must show through our actions the potential Pakistanis have. If you don’t interact with the world how will they know the difference? There are times when people are amazed to see a Pakistani consultant and trainer. Once a client, of Pakistani origin said, “Oh you have things like these even in Pakistan?”

Synergyzer: What measures should we take to project ourselves as a nation of promises?
Farhad: As individuals, work on exploring ourselves and our strengths. For instance, if you are a writer or a graphic designer, research and see the kind of work being done – the internet is an excellent resource for that. Establish your benchmarks, come up with your own world class work and circulate it through social media. It will have a chance of getting viral and will eventually get noticed. Also, if you do not get appreciated at first; keep trying. Try and get exposed to different cultures, learn about them and make sure to network with foreigners in the process.
Have a winning attitude versus a whining attitude. The society is pluralistic and we are not a closed system. We have to learn to compete and find our way through the system; connecting and learning in the process.

Synergyzer: Can you give an example where you feel the suggestion you made could be validated?
Farhad: Interesting. Perhaps Dubai is the most appropriate example. Way back in the 80s, one of the greatest promises that Dubai offered was shopping. People used to travel from Pakistan and India to do shopping there. At that time they launched the Dubai Shopping Festival. This brand identity attracted people and allowed them to diversify significantly. DSF today is one of the many attractions and interestingly their goals and branding targets are very different for the next few years. Again it is critical to note how the key stakeholders of the UAE economy supported it while it created opportunities for different sectors like retail, leisure, hospitality, aviation, real estate & infrastructural development etc.

Synergyzer: Finally, who is Farhad Karamally?
Farhad: An OD Consultant by profession and a habitual entrepreneur who thrives in challenging the status quo and using simplicity to innovate.
I am CEO & Director Navitus Pvt Ltd. (Pakistan & Sri Lanka), Director Stimulus Pvt Ltd., Director The Bottom Line Holidays Sri Lanka, Partner Tangerine Media, Partner FK Squared Publishing and more recently, Partner SEED Incubation Centre. I have worked in various cultures including Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with clientele that includes leading development and corporate sector organizations.

 

A Devoted Entertainment MAVERICK

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A Devoted Entertainment MAVERICK

Mohammad Jerjees Seja, CEO – ARY Digital Network talks about films and creativity in our TV industry.

Synergyzer: Please give an overview about ARY Group.
Jerjees Seja: ARY Network is part of the ARY Group, started by Haji Abdul Razak Yaqoob (who recently passed away), which is into Gold Jewelry, Construction and Telecommunications. The ARY Network was launched in 2000 by Mohammad Iqbal the chairman of ARY Network from London which at that time were the official sponsors for Miss Universe for ARY Gold. Initially it was developed keeping in view the viewers of United Kingdom. Afterwards, the network shifted its offices from London to Dubai and later on, entirely to Pakistan. Currently, we have eight television channels, namely, ARY Digital, ARY News, ARY Musik, ARY QTV, ARY Zauq (USA), Nickelodean Pakistan, HBO Pakistan and the recently launched, ARY Zindagi. Mr. Salman iqbal, Founder and President of ARY Network has taken the network to global heights through his vision and dedication for which we all are a part of.

Synergyzer: Give some brief details about your career.
Jerjees: My career spans over 15 years in the media industry. I started from Interflow Communications then moved to Orient Advertising’s Media division, Evernew Group, where I brought in Carat, the international media planning & buying specialist and digital and non-traditional media solutions provider, and became the Chief Operating Officer of Evernew Concepts and Evernew Entertainment.
In 2005, I joined ARY Network as its Executive Director and went on further to assume the role of Chief Operating Officer. Currently, I am the Chief Executive Officer of the ARY TV network.

Synergyzer: Tell us about The Platform and ARY Film Awards.
Jerjees: In the business of media, innovation is of pertinent importance. At ARY, we seek to do just that. ARY along with Nadeem Mandviwalla, Managing Director of Mandviwalla Entertainment launched The Platform, an initiative that educates and facilitates young directors in promoting and showcasing their cinematic productions. We realized that our young filmmakers are highly educated and skilled in their field, but do not have the exposure on how they could portray their work to the masses. With the introduction of The Platform, we made information and resources available for such filmmakers who were making independent art or documentary films, and they fast tracked themselves and are now producing films for the commercial cinema. We launched and promoted the movie Josh and Lamha (Seedlings) and Later ARY Films launched Mein Hoon Shahid Afridi, Zinda Bhaag and Waar.
Also, we introduced Pakistani movies to the global viewers by taking Waar to UK and the Middle East while Mein Hoon Shahid Afridi was shown in the Middle East, where surprisingly, both these movies did exceptionally well. The global audience agrees that Pakistan is capable of producing superb quality content. Bollywood trade analyst and film critics expressed their astonishment to see Waar receiving such a phenomenal response from the UK audience and generating approximately GBP 350,000 in revenue.
Keeping in view such accomplishments of our filmmakers, we decided to give the due recognition to our local directors, producers, actors etc. through the ARY Film Awards, the way we see the best of Bollywood being acknowledged at IIFA or Filmfare Awards. We acknowledged the new breed of performers and actors in Pakistan whose performances are par excellence and celebrated the birth of new cinema in the country, while making sure that our silver screen legends are remembered for their contributions. ARY Film Awards will be broadcast internationally through our network.

Synergyzer: Our film industry shows a lot of promise with more than 30 commercial movies under-production. Do our filmmakers have the resources available now that were lacking before?
Jerjees: Currently, the market is small and the dynamics are rapidly changing. Previously, when someone wanted to make a movie, they did not have the basic understanding of the business model in effect. Now, most of our filmmakers have the comprehension of the industry dynamics and the business model. We also played our part through The Platform in helping a number of filmmakers understand these things.
Also, the fact that a number of cinema multiplexes are under construction leading to an increasing number of film screens are a highly encouraging sign for our filmmakers and the industry in general.

Synergyzer: The image Pakistan has throughout the world is mainly due to the way our media projects it.What is your opinion on this?
Jerjees: Media reflects the image of society. What ever is going around will be shown by the media. Bomb blasts, kidnappings, killings and other negative incidents are taking place every day and are to be reported. It is the responsibility of the media to report these incidents with their due importance. At times, they get a little overboard which needs to be controlled and brought into a code of conduct.

Synergyzer: Pakistani dramas are well appreciated around the world wherever there are people who understand the Urdu language. Is ARY promoting Pakistani dramas in regions where people do not understand the Urdu language?
Jerjees: Yes. Recently, we have started exploring these possibilities and some dramas from Pakistan were dubbed in Arabic and broadcast in major Gulf markets. We receive requests from different countries for our dramas and more such ventures are in the pipeline. This is a growing trend and such collaborations put our content in front of a global audience.As our channels are beaming all over we can cater to these requirements on our own as well.

Synergyzer: Currently, the earning model of every channel is based on advertising, which is said to conflict with content quality. What is your take on that?
Jerjees: The real issue lies with the policies which govern the media industry. Globally, subscribers buy channel bouquets, which are a set of TV channels offered by TV cable service providers. Subscribers pay the cable services and the money is distributed amongst them and TV channels according to a proper formula but unfortunately, the existing policies do not allow the same as the cable operators themselves are being victimized of similar policies. On the other hand, in Pakistan, the government charges Rs. 35 from each household in the electricity bill as TV license fee which is only given to PTV while the cable operators keep the money they charge subscribers. Until proper policies and profit sharing formulae are drafted, the only thriving business model will be based on advertising.

Synergyzer: Does foreign content affect viewership of local content?
Jerjees: Our dramas are strong and we have been fighting against all the foreign content and holding on to the boat for quite some time. Again wrong policies by the government has led to a new competition in the market and now we are forced to fulfill these wants of our viewers. We have to understand that these projects are produced with huge budgets while the Pakistani plays are produced with Œ or even lesser budgets so obviously there will be some difference in the quality. But eventually our dramas are closest to our reality and will eventually be more relevant for the masses. Trends will keep on changing and we need to adopt and improve with time for betterment.

 

The Big Brand Theory – How To’s of Nation Branding

Sanna Malik
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The Big Brand Theory – How To’s of Nation Branding

As originally published in Synergyzer Annual – 2014

Nation branding involves managing the reputation and image of any nation. Starting from simple efforts at attracting tourism, the scope of nation branding has gone much further beyond its initial focus. Countries now aim at facilitating trade, lure foreign investment, improve private sector competitiveness and even secure geopolitical influence.

According to Simon Anholt, a specialist who advises countries on their national brands and edits a journal on place branding, currently, there are six main subfields to nation branding, which include tourism, exports, governance, people, culture and heritage, and investment and immigration. Yet, the field is an evolving one, which is in its boom period at the moment. Countries are increasingly approaching public relation firms and communication consultants who apply matrices to quantify the strength of national brands and corporate branding techniques to market a country.

Anholt, whereas, stresses on and encourages a more organic process in which countries change their policy, in a coordinated manner, to earn a stronger brand. For that, he says in an interview to CFR.org, the website for the Council on Foreign Relations, countries need to first take the brand, their nation, as a reputation asset. For that they need to manage behavioral aspects of a nation’s image by having officials from the public, nonprofit and business sector work together on delivering the commitment that they want to put across to the world so that they can invest in their futures more efficiently. Policymaking plays an important part in this exercise. Using the right ideas and tools for communication and publicity are the second phase.

To better understand these, a number of countries can be taken as examples of successfully branding themselves. To increase its capital reserves and import expertise from abroad, Australia is offering residence permits to overseas millionaires for an investment of AUD 5 million in federal bonds, managed funds, Australian companies or a combination of these; leading to permanent residency after four years. Australia is being promoted through a strong communication strategy comprising of a number vehicles, one such vehicle being MasterChef Australia, being utilized quite intelligently and subtly. The program projects the country as a diverse one with people from a number of religions and cultures co-existing peacefully and thriving, engaged in healthy competition.

Sri Lanka, to attract foreign investors, has developed its ports and airports and is in the process of developing its maritime, knowledge, commercial and energy sectors. For this, the stock market is being strengthened in terms of improving broker infrastructure, strengthening regulations and developing the corporate bond market.

Moving on to the case of Pakistan, we approached experts from diverse backgrounds to provide views on what needs to be taken up as a factor that can become Pakistan’s identity amid the face of continuing crises that it presents to the world. The media mogul, Taher A. Khan, identified investment as the core area around which the country should embark on a branding exercise. According to him, ours is a country ripe for investment in numerous areas including infrastructure, energy, education, consumer products etc. Out of the plus 190 million population that we have, he highlighted the high number of youngsters – 55.6% between the 0 to 24 years age group and 35.1% between 25 to 54 years, according to Index Mundi – whose talent can be capitalized and who need an infrastructure to support their growing numbers, as well as the high number of people falling in the middle class – 40% by some controversial estimates whereas 24% according to more conservative ones – with growing purchasing power, as the key factors that will drive the investment potential and is sure to provide great returns. Also, the urban population is currently 36.2% with growing urbanization at 2.68% annually.

While the policies of the current government are meant to provide encouragement to investors, there is still a long way to go. A course needs to be charted out to deal with the multiple challenges that we are faced with to promote brand Pakistan as an equitable one and compete with the advancing globalization.

Every inch a Connoisseur

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Every inch a Connoisseur

“To create more demand for our food, our chefs should participate in international food fairs and the authorities should be willing to facilitate them in visa procedures”, Tanveer Yusuf, CEO, 14  Street Pizza Co.

Synergyzer: Food is an important part of our culture and the main form of entertainment for us Pakistanis. What are the dynamics of our urban food industry?

Tanveer Yusuf: I believe that the urban food industry; which includes dine in, take away and delivery services, has very much matured mainly due to social media. People discuss food and restaurants on different portals and groups, share their experiences and help build opinions. We know what to expect out of any food outlet and which ones offer value for money.

Synergyzer: The 20-inch pizza was a newbie in the Pakistani market back in 2011. What encouraged you to introduce it?

Tanveer: Consumers here were fascinated by the pizza offerings that were a benchmark here back then; in the small, regular and large sizes and traditional flavors. I wanted to introduce pizza here in a form that was different from the market norm.

Initially, our plan was to introduce takeaway of pizza slices, but we realized that the Pakistani mindset may not be able to accept it. Hence we evolved the offering to the 20-inch pizza slice, which luckily clicked.

Synergyzer: Did you conduct any market research before launching it? How did you develop the product?

Tanveer: There was no needs based market research as such; rather we carried out R&D for six months before launching the brand. I used to make different kinds of dough through different recipes, experimented with different ingredients and their grammages and have my friends, colleagues, rather anyone I would find on the street taste my pizza to get feedback. We would then finalize those with the most tasteful votes.

Synergyzer: How has 14th Street set benchmarks for pizza taste and quality?

Tanveer: We have set our own benchmarks for taste and quality. Also we make sure that the ingredients in the pizza are presented properly in the right layers. For instance, certain vegetables are put under the meat, while those like olives have to be visible and should be put on top.

Besides this, our Quality Assurance (QA) team ensures that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are firmly followed in every kitchen for product uniformity at each stage, from the making of dough to putting in the variety of toppings.

Synergyzer: 14th Street Pizza Co. is now an established brand with a strong clientele. Are you planning to expand towards dine-in?

Tanveer: Currently, our focus is on expanding into as many delivery territories as possible. We are covering 60 to 70 percent area in Karachi and 20 to 25 percent of Islamabad. We will soon be starting operations in Lahore and Multan.

Synergyzer: Do you consider pizza dine-in businesses as your competition?

Tanveer: No. You see, the dynamics of the dine-in industry are totally different with larger margins as well as bottom lines, which are in complete contrast to our business model. Other food delivery businesses are our indirect competitors, yes, but the business dynamics change with the change in food offering.

Synergyzer: How can Pakistani food play a role in branding the country internationally?

Tanveer: Some of our foods like Biryani and Chicken Tikka are already famous in countries like UK and USA. A number of our chains have opened up in the Middle East like BarBQ Tonite, plus Lal Qila is selling its menu variety in tinned cans at airports through which Pakistanis travel frequently. We can award further franchises at such destinations, too.

To further make a brand out of our food, we need to create more demand for it. This can be done through participation in food fairs around the world, but here the authorities should be willing to facilitate our chefs in visa procedures. Also, even though there are security threats, there are foreigners visiting our country, and offering them standardized food that can compete with international franchises should be a goal for our food businesses, which will eventually lead to the promotion of our signature edibles.

 

Reinventing Success – A Leader’s Playbook for Serial Success

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Reinventing Success – A Leader’s Playbook for Serial Success

Board Member – Time Warner Inc. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Former Chairman – Bausch & Lomb and author of Reinvent: A Leader’s Playbook for Serial Success talks to Synergyzer about his illustrious career

Synergyzer: How would you define Fred Hassan?

Fred Hassan: A hard working, down to earth, family man. Farid Hassan is one of those executives who believe that our biggest purpose on Earth is to help others fulfill their dreams.

Synergyzer: What sector companies have you worked on overhauling? How many companies have you reinvented in your career?

Fred: As mentioned in “Reinvent,” at least six have benefited from turnaround and transformations led by me. Besides the pharmaceutical industry, these include chemicals, consumer, agriculture, electronic devices, foods, diagnostics and services.

Synergyzer: Are there any specific traits that are there sector-wise that contribute to a company’s disaster situation or success?

Fred: Each sector has key factors that lead to the success or failure for companies that compete in those particular sectors.

In pharmaceuticals, for example, and as mentioned in “Reinvent” about 70% of the sales from marketed products needed to be replaced by new products every ten years, in order to offset exclusivity expiries. In this sector, therefore, an innovative and effective research and development engine is critical for companies to thrive and prosper.

Yet it is common for once strong companies in R&D, such as Merck, to lose their R&D superiority and then be forced into cost-cutting and layoffs.

Synergyzer: What are the factors that commonly contribute to management disasters?

Fred: The most common factor is past success that lulls the company into complacency or even arrogance. By not reinventing themselves and keeping the edge sharpened, companies lose their competitive edge and allow existing competitors or new upstarts to hijack their franchise whether its customer, innovation or low cost franchise. This often leads to market share losses, cost cutting, further losses and the downward spiral continues.

Synergyzer: What are the major traits in an organization’s culture that are vital in turning it around? Or is the case different with every organization?

Fred: The starting point of every turnaround is different. But there are commonalities when describing a culture change that leads to a turnaround.

The important commonalities’ in turnaround cultures are:

Senior Management, who are excellent in their own functional areas, are inspiring leaders to the people they lead and root for the success of their other teammates in senior management.

Role modeling attitudes and behaviors that promote passion, courage and tenacity among the various levels in the organization – all the way to the frontlines.

Executing relentlessly by applying the “Winning Team Formula”- Clear goals, faith in themselves and their leaders, training, and most importantly, the will to win.

Always staying humble, staying grounded, being adaptable, and being flexible – even as one sees success after success.

Synergyzer: In all your years of experience, how have you been able to inculcate a sense of ownership amongst employees? What are some of the most vital reasons that employees start lacking ownership of their place of work?

Fred: One reason employees lack a sense of ownership is because they start to believe that senior management looks at their organization as a machine rather than groups of people who want to have a sense of purpose, take ownership, and win together.

I have always believed that if people buy into the mission, feel valued, are committed to constant self-improvement, feel that what they do makes a difference and care for their colleagues, then one gets much more productivity than senior management treating organizations in a mechanical way.

Synergyzer: You have reinvented a huge number of companies in your career. Can you tell us about interesting experiences with some of them?

Fred: I have been successful in reinventing many companies. There are many interesting stories in “Reinvent” including the dramatic turnaround of Sandoz Pakistan in the early ‘80s.

Perhaps the most profound reinvention was as Chairman and CEO of Schering-Plough from April 2003 to November 2009. During this time the company changed dramatically in its culture, its sense of direction and its collective sense of executional excellence. The financial metrics changed dramatically. One operating metric was cash flow which went from an alarming burn rate of $1 billion per year to a positive $2 billion per year.

Additionally, Schering-Plough’s R&D engine was transformational in its performance, increasing the value of the R&D pipeline by several billion dollars. The most gratifying part here is the benefit to millions of patients around the world who benefitted from new medicines.

Finally, the people of Schering-Plough greatly benefitted from the learning laboratory that was created to show how a changed culture can lead to turnarounds and transformation. Many have gone on to better professional and personal lives for themselves.

Synergyzer: Based on your experiences, what shapes any society’s human capital’s desire to excel and where do you see the potential for Pakistan as one nation or culture?

Fred: The best way societies seek to better themselves is through a broad based long-term social consensus within the country that is durable, even when governments change. This focuses on securing and then improving beyond the basics such as food, sanitation, public health, education, human rights, rule of law, safety, security, property rights and the opportunity for adequate rewards for hard work, team work and innovation.

I remember while growing up in Lahore in the early ‘50s, how we felt economically at par with South Korea. Today, South Korea has achieved a European standard of living with an aspiring population that values education. South Korea got there via a 60-year journey of focus, resolve and hard work. Pakistan has a population that seeks education and enlightenment and is ready to work hard. Pakistan too has the potential to go on its own 60 year journey towards progress and prosperity.

Synergyzer: What do you feel is required to change the outlook of Pakistan in the world even in the current circumstances? What are the basics required?

Fred: In my opinion the most immediate basic step would be to enhance accessibility and understanding. For example, Pakistan needs to get off the “do not travel there” lists. It is hard to build international understanding if people do not travel to Pakistan in the numbers that they do to other countries.

Synergyzer: What measures can Pakistanis studying and living abroad should undertake to help convert the country’s image into a positive one?

Fred: Pakistanis working and studying abroad have a good image. Yet, their ability to improve their country’s image is limited as they have limited influence on mitigating the political, social and economic challenges that develop in their country. Each overseas Pakistani can positively influence their countrymen by showing the power of critical thinking, tolerance for diversity, a bias for learning and research and building team spirit in getting things done.

 

The Consumer Marketer Relation No Longer A Match Made In Heaven

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The Consumer Marketer Relation No Longer A Match Made In Heaven

By Faisal Khan

Have you noticed that, they – the consumers – are no longer paying attention and neither are they interested in what we – marketers – are talking about? It seems as if they feel that we are not speaking their language; as if no one seems to understand their needs and nor is there any understanding of where their time is spent. It seems that the traditional route of reaching out to them via dialogue is not effective for brands and agencies anymore.

In 2007, Microsoft launched a campaign called, “Bring the Love Back.” It emphasized on the faltering relationship between advertisers and consumers; where the story of love went wrong, blaming the advertiser for not paying much attention to the consumer.

Unfortunately, this faltering relationship reflects the marketing scene of Pakistan, where consumers have learnt various ways of ignoring such communication to which they can’t relate. The advertising agencies here have to play in this love scene performing crucial role as match makers. However, it seems that they’re not keeping up with the new trends in match making. Here are a few insights for a modern communication agency to deal with the current challenges brands are facing.

L>C Rule

L = Learning and C = Change where L>C means learnings have to be greater than change in order to adapt to the upcoming changes. With the continuously evolving consumer landscape, it is imperative for agency experts to stay ahead of the curve and foresee upcoming changes in consumers’ lives, and pass on the information to advertisers simultaneously. The information helps in understanding the impact of new and emerging changes in the cultural sphere including the way of living, choices of fashion, food etc. and allows the agency to stay ahead of consumers’ changing trends. For instance, if Al-Karam is aware of the colors and patterns their customers will like this summer they will have the option of introducing the same. Likewise, if Nokia knows what utility would actually add value via their handsets, they will try and form communities accordingly.

Open Innovation

Agencies have been relying on their resources from the very start, which produces work in similar formats carrying the same flow of perspective that starts showing signs of monotony after a while. Open innovation is an idea of goal-directed inflow and outflow of knowledge by people from external sources that may give agency-folk an opportunity to learn from different industry experts. It opens new horizons and dismisses the repetition that creeps into any agency’s work by introducing collaborative thinking.
Imagine a doctor designing an asset for a pharma product, with his insights for specific patients. Kraft is using the open innovation platform very well through its Collaboration Kitchen initiative by getting ideas on recipes, developing them in-house and providing more flavorful products to their consumers.
Open innovation community can turn into a large crowd of resourceful problem solvers for agencies too, who may benefit from this for their different assignments.

Learn to Co-Create

As agencies we do focus on behavioral change of consumers when we are thinking of campaigns, but what if we take this behavioral change to the next level? This can be done by taking people along and giving them the tools to change behavior of their peers by co-creating with them. Threadless, a T-Shirt brand allows designers to participate in designing T-shirts, earning from sales in the process. This strategy of co-creation benefits the brand, as well as those contributing towards it.

Think Parallel Assets

This level of thinking allows investing in the long term that collectively leads to building assets for the brand through collaborations with other brands rather than just through promoting themselves.
Nike with its Nike+ initiative created a parallel media platform for athletes and sport enthusiasts by collaborating with Apple and Android to introduce apps for its sports equipment to track fitness progress.

Hence, instead of pushing the limited utility that products start entailing after a while, creating further assets around your products that will compliment their usage goes a long way.

Thinking Media Neutral

It is important that agencies leave the predetermined media models aside and study the rapidly changing consumer lifestyles. This way, they should assess where consumers are spending most of their time, which is definitely not just TV anymore.

Agencies finally need to get out of their comfort zones and stop looking in the rear view by being moderately happy with what they’ve created so far. They have to ‘learn to unlearn’ and start from scratch, because touchpoints are now eloquent brushpoints. In An excellent example of thinking beyond television commercials: TEDx’s recent campaign, which was managed by Ogilvy, showed barbers as touchpoints to deliver stories to the masses.

With such implementations, any agency can surely be the best match makers between the brand and its consumers. Off course, charging a good fee in exchange for its ideas ‘cause that’s why we are in the business. No?

 

PR The New Showstopper Of The Fashion World

Sarah Tahir
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PR The New Showstopper Of The Fashion World

Fashion has different connotations for different people. The most widely accepted formal definition of fashion describes it as, “a popular trend, especially in styles of dress, ornament, or behavior”.

The world of fashion today has evolved exceptionally over time. Classy, Glamorous, Hip, Chic, Provocative, Controversial and Sensational are some of the buzz words that can be used to describe the fashion world that mesmerizes us so much. Fashion, which was once considered elitist has, over time, become more affordable and has seeped into the mass market. Even then, for fashion to be considered fashion, it should maintain a certain element of exclusivity and create that aspirational value for the mainstream market. Today, fashion brands are not just limited to clothing but extend to a wide variety of products such as shoes, hand bags, accessories, cosmetics, watches, sun glasses, cars and even furniture. Anything and everything that is an expression of our lifestyle and essentially our personality, falls in the domain of fashion.

Both globalization and economic recession seems to have created an interesting impact on fashion and the way it is perceived the world over. While, globalization has helped more people become more aware of fashion due to vast and easy access to information and cultural exchange, economic recession on the other hand, has encouraged a large number of fashion designers to introduce their not-so-pricey line of fashion brands to cater to mass markets and remain profitable during the crises.

With a massive influx of new fashion brands in the market both locally and internationally, it is not a surprise that many designer labels are paying more and more attention to the way they communicate with their target audience. Traditionally, fashion brands relied upon advertising to create an aura around their brand. However, with the mushrooming of affordable fashion brands across the world, many labels now opt for PR to launch their brand and at the same time, use experiential marketing activities with media presence to interact with the target audience on a more personal level and also communicate the brand’s key message via PR. Since PR is more affordable and can be targeted to specific markets, many fashion brands, high-end and affordable alike, are making increasing use of PR exercises to build a favorable image in the minds of target audience. According to Uche Okonkwo, the author of the book Luxury Fashion Branding: Trends, Tactics, Techniques, “The aim of PR activities is to influence people’s knowledge and feelings regarding a company and its offerings, including its identity and image, in order to persuade consumers and the public of the authenticity of the brand and build favorable relationships with stakeholders”. Kotler, a renowned marketing expert, further elaborates on the importance of events in promoting fashion brands, “Events are consequently essential for luxury brands that through these are able to achieve the above, create a buzz, surprise the public and overtly display, engage and involve consumers in what the brand is all about.”

Globally, PR is being used extensively by fashion brands to get their message across to the most potential audience. In Pakistan, PR is still seen as an emerging marketing tool for brand building exercises. However, with the growth in the number of PR agencies, PR specialists and media in Pakistan catering to fashion in particular, makes the future of Fashion PR look promising in Pakistan. A variety of events in the world of fashion get great media coverage. Below are some examples of most popular events and activities that take place internationally as well as in Pakistan and help keep the media abuzz with fashion brands:

Fashion’s Night Out is a relatively new phenomenon that started in 2009 from New York. It’s a global initiative, sponsored by Vogue, leading international fashion magazine and CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) to encourage consumers to shop and support the fashion industry during the tough economic climate. The event expanded to 18 countries in 2012 and occurred over the span of eight days to maximize traffic in individual retail environment. Fashion’s Night Out is a shopper’s dream come true. Leading fashion houses of the participating countries offer special editions to shoppers at discounted prices; it’s more like a celebration of fashion where fun and entertainment goes hand in hand, fashion retailers usually hire DJs for live music and also offer goody bags to customers. Fashion’s Night Out in each country gets exciting response from the media fraternity with coverage in TV, print and even digital media. Unfortunately, Pakistan hasn’t yet adopted this most happening fashion event. Considering the growing number of fashion brands available in Pakistan, our very own Fashion’s Night Out can prove to be a fantastic opportunity for fashion retailers to increase their sales and for fashion brands to discuss their special editions and inspirations by making clever use of PR.

Fashion shows have become a standard event in the fashion world, globally as well as in Pakistan. Fashion shows usually follow a theme and showcase exaggerated elements on the ramp to get attention of media and well-known fashionistas and at the same time reflect the fashion designer’s own sense of creativity, giving an air of exclusivity and rarity to the brand. Fashion events by famous Pakistani designers manage to get extensive attention of the fashion and lifestyle media particularly because most Pakistani fashion designers have partnered with a PR agency that takes care of their media presence.

Fashion weeks that have been popular on the international fashion front for quite some time have now taken roots in Pakistani fashion circle of late and dictate the hottest fashion trends for each season. Even though fashion weeks in Pakistan haven’t yet made it into the most popular fashion weeks around the world, but it’s a good start and shows that our fashion industry is gaining momentum. Encouraging to note is the fact that every fashion week in Pakistan has a dedicated PR expert or agency associated with the event to ensure that the media takes note of such happenings. And it does! In terms of PR, fashion weeks held in Pakistan have become the most sought after fashion events and the local fashion print gives special coverage to these events highlighting the featured designer labels and their work.
Use of experiential marketing by fashion brands has really caught on internationally and Pakistan is slowly warming up to this concept as local fashion brands come of age and international brands become more available in the Pakistani market. Experiential marketing is an intelligent way of not only engaging and exciting the end consumer, but to make the brand experience so unique that it automatically grabs media attention.

On the international scale, a wide variety of experiential activities take place ranging from in-store activities to amplification via social media and taking brand experience to the streets. A good international example of experiential marketing is that of Gap Christmas Cheer Squad where Gap, a mid-range fashion brand, created a Christmas cheer squad comprising of singers, gymnasts, break-dancers and other theatrical performers. The activity led to a unique experience to generate buzz around Gap on the high street. Crowds gathered as Gap performers spread festive spirit through a combination of choreographed dance routines, street theatre, on-the-spot improvisation and songs. The campaign made good use of digital media and went viral. As the campaign kicked off, the digital media was abuzz with the news of Gap spreading holiday happiness with its Christmas Cheer Squad wearing Gap’s latest winter collection.
A variety of fashion brands in Pakistan today are interacting directly with the end consumer through activities with high newsworthiness. Some of the most suitable examples include Pond’s experience zone, L’Oreal Paris Interactive Mall Animation and seasonal activities carried out by Scentsations, a local luxury retail chain.

Pond’s created an experience zone at a famous mall where they offered free skin consultation and had their complete range of products available for trial. The event was well-attended by the A-list socialites and earned a spot in a major chunk of fashion magazines.

L’Oreal Paris has launched a series of Interactive Mall Animations in Karachi and Lahore. The latest activity in this series was carried out at Dolmen City Mall in August 2012 to not only launch its RevitaLift Total Repair 10 products, but also celebrate Eid festivities with potential customers. At the interactive press meet, Famous stylist and L’Oreal Paris Expert, Saba Ansari, gave a makeover to L’Oreal Paris spokesperson in Pakistan and model Mehreen Syed. In addition, free professional consultation and facial service was also provided to the guests. The event was managed by a PR agency and successfully interacted with the target audience. At the same time, the presence of fashion designers and models earned decent press coverage for the event.

Scentsations is a local, high-end perfume and cosmetics brand that regularly undertakes red carpet launch of latest perfumes and also conducts various activities from time to time, celebrating occasions like Valentine’s day and Mother’s day where participants get a chance to play games and win free goody bags. Such activities help Scentsations stay in the news regularly and has helped the brand build a reputation of the leading luxury retail chain in Pakistan coupled with the following of hard-core brand loyalists.

These examples justify the growing importance of PR in building brand image and indicate that Pakistani fashion brands have only started to realize the role that PR can play in promoting their brands and effectively communicating the brand’s message to the right audience.The increasing number and variety of events with the potential to generate respectable amount of press coverage and increasing utilization of social media to interact with audience and generate positive word of mouth, highlights the fact that PR is slowly gaining momentum in the country. However, there’s still room for improvement and there’s need to use PR as a perfect fit within the overall marketing activities of a fashion brand to create and sustain brand loyalty and maximize the brand’s impact in the life of consumers.

Experiential Marketing: Set To Become The Marketers’ Magic Wand?

Synergyzer
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Experiential Marketing: Set To Become The Marketers’ Magic Wand?

Umair Mohsin explains the true essence of experiential marketing  

[dropcap size=small]T[/dropcap]he term ‘experiential marketing’ is hugely popular these days, with a lot being written on it and a number of agencies claiming to be experts in the field using it as the buzz word. However, a casual Google search for the term “experiential marketing” reveals the following being carried out in our country, which is quite misleading:

  • Companies sending out SMS messages
  • Marketing solutions consisting solely of events, floats for town storming and/or sports and other forms of entertainment marketing programs
  • Product sampling, Horeca promotions and street teams

What is experiential marketing then? The term refers to actual customer experiences with the brand, product or service that drive sales and increase brand image and awareness. It’s the difference between telling people about features of a product or service and letting them experience the benefits for themselves. When done right, it’s the most powerful tool out there to win brand loyalty. Thus experiential marketing is not one specific marketing tool. It’s an idea. A mindset. A focus on creating fresh connections between brands and consumers out in the world where things happen. Connections in the form of experiences that are personally relevant, memorable, interactive and emotional leading to increased sales and brand loyalty.

It’s important to point out that simply creating a live encounter between a person and a brand does not mean you’ve succeeded at being an experiential marketer. As Tom Peters says it well in his new book, RE-IMAGINE!, “Despite the fact that experiences will be the essence of life in the New Economy 
 most companies trying to pull this ‘experience thing’ off will fail miserably. They won’t get it 
 This ‘experience thing’ is 
 extremist. Not a dab of ‘delight’ here. Nor a pinch of ‘amusement’ there. But 
 An Entirely Different Way of Life.”

I see a lot of experiences being created where there is a disconnect between what is happening and the brand. One recent example being a bank at the Expo Lifestyles event targeting a bunch of young kids with free PS3 games. Those who can’t make decisions about their banking end up attending just for the free gaming. Other examples also exist where the brand connection is clear, yet the experience doesn’t lead to its intended result, for example, the branded kiosks in malls where people come to sit and nothing more. Good experiences take time, money, good information and clear objectives to develop.

To carry out experiential marketing well, it must be understood from its roots. The growing intensity of media proliferation and the evolution of internet from its primeval static manifestation (Web 1.0) to its present interactive and digitalised form (Web 2.0) changed the balance of effectiveness between the ATL and BTL media, with ATL becoming largely compromised since consumers, simultaneously overloaded by information and empowered by that same information, became harder to reach and harder to convince. As a result, a more direct and targeted approach became the order of the day, and ‘brand activation’ entered the marketing lexicon, defined by Ogilvy as, ‘through the line marketing services’, that are ‘media neutral’ and based on ‘a big idea’. Experiential marketing took this concept further, basing its effectiveness on an ability to create consumer experiences by engaging their emotions and their five senses. On the surface this may sound like a tall order, and yet experiential marketing can truly be a wondrous thing for brand communicators, provided they are able to ‘hit the right spot’ – which is the crux of the matter.

To hit that right spot, experiential marketing has to be – and cannot be anything else but – relevant to the consumer at a particular time and place. An excellent example of this was illustrated by the Charmin’s ‘brand activation’, a placement so obvious and yet so brilliant. What can be more customer relevant for a brand of toilet paper than providing the most luxurious ever public restroom experience to a crowd of weary, but happy Christmas shoppers milling around Times Square on a cold winter’s day?

Because this is what happens to shoppers in cities all over the world; they shop and then all of a sudden they desperately need a restroom break. And that is what is called a consumer insight and that is what Charmin acted on, giving the most luxurious experience to hundreds of thousands of shoppers in their time of ‘need’.

“Nike Grid“, which is an online and ambient campaign designed to clock London runners speed and endurance is another brilliant experiential marketing campaign. Fitness fans register online before running between designated telephone boxes, punching in their unique code at the start and end of each run, building up a grid of over 40 postcodes. Nike Grid players have 24 hours to race and conquer their streets. There are 40 postcodes in play, each with four phone-boxes. The more runs, the more points earned for that postcode. The person with the most points in each area claims the crown of that postcode. Badges are awarded for speed, stamina and insider knowledge of the streets. Players are encouraged to use their street knowledge to get them around their local area as quickly as possible by any possible route. There are also maps online and in various outdoor locations. What is more experiential than being with users when they are using the products marketers sell?

A more fun awareness generating experiential campaign was designed by MINI last year and ended up doubling MINI sales in Sweden because of it with over 11,000 participants in the game. Targeting the core youth segment, the game was called MINI Getaway – The Stockholm Hunt and was a simple ‘cat & mouse’ game. Running over the course of nine days, smartphone users ‘hunted’ to catch a virtual MINI Coupe. The person who finished the competition while holding onto the virtual MINI would win the car for real. Given that participants were in thousands however, players were required to run as fast as they could to keep out of the orbit of other players, and use a range of tactics to prevent them from stealing it. Players would frantically try their best to hold onto the virtual car for as long as they possibly could to win the prize.

With the growth of the internet and mobile platforms, experiential marketing will continue to evolve and move forward as technology opens more collaborative and social communication channels. Experiential marketing is forecast to become one of the biggest growth areas in marketing in the next five years as marketers shift an increasing proportion of their marketing budgets towards it. Spending in this area is set to grow as marketing budget holders now believe that it offers considerable advantages over other marketing tools, especially in building brand loyalty and encouraging word of mouth recommendation amongst consumers.

Umair Mohsin is Director – Digital Marketing & Strategy at Media Idee Digital, a digital agency serving clients in UK, Sweden, Dubai and Pakistan. He can be reached at umair.mohsin@mediaidee.com

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