Urdu poetry Urdu Poe try is richly quotable.The Ghazal, which is by far the most popUlar art form in Urdu poetry, is a string of t bought provoking couplets on varied themes of permanent human interest such as love and beauty, God and man, life and death, mortality, etc. the couplets of a Ghazal, bound together by the unity of mood, meter and rhyme, do not often generally observe the unity of thought and theme. More often than not, each couplet of the Ghazal is an independent unit, detachable and self-sufficient. Each couplet may be called a capsule of concentrated wisdom, charged with the magnetism of poetry. The themetic variety found in the several couplets of the Ghazal widens the reader's scope of selection, so that he can pick and choose his favourite couplets, treasure them in his memory, and return to them at leisure for thoughtful contemplation and quotation.

'When ignorance is bliss....'

'Advertising is a con game.' That's what the world at large thinks.A layman thinks of an advertising person as a crook and a cheat.


The Government of India,has time and again overlooked advertising from the list of worthy professionals eligible for tax concessions and other benefits.The Government clubbed advertising with real estate agents for TDS under Section 194H.Who says,"When ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise?"


Recently I read the findings of a survey on the image of advertising profession.The findings were as expected,very disturbing.It seems the profession has an overall unfavorable image.This is primarily due to the fact that advertising is perceived as an activity that does not conform to the accepted norms of truth,decency and legality.


Who is to blame?I think we all are.It takes just a couple of dishonest campaigns to destroy the credibility of thousands of good honest ads.And in the process tarnish the image of the image-makers.


Day in and day out,we change people's attitude,modify their behavior,add to their knowledge.All this we do for our clients' products.But rarely have we done anything to change people's attitude towards advertising.Why are we loathe to campaign their behavior? Why have we not sincerely undertaken a campaign to educate the masses about the goodness of advertising?Why do we have to live up to myth of being the 'hidden persuaders'?


It's time,each one of us did some soul searching.Let's join hands and make a concerted effort to rectify past sins.

The day I heard Eus of RadEUS is no more!

Over two years back, the day began its usual way until I got a call from dear old Dulcie, our trusted right hand in Radeus. The news was not good… she said Eustace of Radeus is no more. In a flash I travelled to over four decades ago to the story of Radeus…

When Radeus started as a co-operative agency, the ‘founding members’ K. Kurien and Usha Katrak were being shadowed by a legal case of defrauding. It was slapped onto them by none other than ASP, of which they were once a part, and off whose client base they started Radeus. They called upon two trusted people Radha Khambadkone and Eustace Fernandes and used them as a front to start out their ambitious advertising communications venture. And thus was born RAD from Radha and EUS from Eustace to become one big family called RADEUS.

Having heard this story again and again in the seventeen years I worked there, it almost became a Radeus folklore. And living it out in full life was dear Eustace. My memory of Eustace is of a maverick doodler… one who I consider as one of the best art directors produced by Indian advertising. And he proved me right time and again as long as we worked together. It was amazing how, on innumerable occasions, I would be sitting across the table discussing the client brief with him and explaining what was needed in the campaign, and this maverick doodler would barely look up from whatever he was doing with his pencil on the paper and as I would come to the end of the brief and get prepared for the questions, voila! I would be shown the paper he was scribbling on, and I would get to see a perfect layout, good enough to be carried to the client, and perfect to the brief! I have never seen anyone as good then nor ever after till date, even in the super speed age of supercomputers!

To a dehati, urdu-medium educated copywriter like me, English was as alien as probably Ghalib was to Eustace. And did he ever leave a stone unturned to rub it into me! A particularly ‘enlightening’ moment was when, Eustace of many languages (he claimed to know French, Spanish and god knows what other , Greek Latin  to an untrained novice like me) flambouantly flashed a paper before me. The paper had just 2 words written on it. With great flourish he asked me to read it aloud. I innocently read it loud and clear…‘Grand Pricks’… and there was Eustace doubled up laughing hard in probably a laugh Grand Prix!

This was neither the first nor the last of such pranks that he played on me… but I shall be eternally grateful to this guy to introduce me to the ‘propah’ advertisingwallah language, and pushing me to learn it well. Maybe today with this article I shall be able to pay back my ‘teacher’ through my heartfelt tribute.

It is sad that he probably passed away sad and angry, as I gather from an article that had appeared, and I quote “ reports in a section of media sometime back claimed that adman Sylvestor DaCunha was the creator of the Amul  Girl, relegating Fernandes to the status of a mere ‘artist’. DaCunha does not deserve any ‘credit’ says Eustace. ‘The mascot was created by me without any assistance or direction from him’

‘And he’s claimimg credit as the creator of the girl and wants his name in the Guinness Book for running the longest ongoing campaign’ says Eustace in a choked voice” unquote. Whatever one may claim Eustace had more such ‘Amuls’ to prove his genius in legendary campaigns that were complete by themselves, even as sketches! Limca with its ‘Lime n lemony Limca’, Amul Girl and her ‘Utterly Butterly Delicious’, Modern Bread Lion, LIC and the list is endless…

The other side of Eustace was noble, giving and so ready to serve the needy. I have seen his relentless work with the street and underprivileged children from close quarters as he involved me in his work. The dedication, love and commitment was unquestionable and completely selfless.

He extended his professional skills to many NGOs, designing their brochures, book covers, newsletters, magazines without charging a penny. It is in his work that he will live on forever, as he will in the hearts of all those children he served, as he will from the Amul girl  as we see her live-on, on the iconic brand idea on the hoarding, the Air India Maharaja as he twirls his lush moustache…and of course for me forever printed on the cover of my first book and imprinted in my memory… sleep tight friend!

A tribute by:

Jameel Gulrays

Result-Driven Advertising and Communications Consultant

HIT THE SUPER 6 TO EFFECTIVE MEDIA PLANNING

The business of advertising is all about (a)What to say (b) How to say and (c) Most ignored,yet very important WHERE to say.While the 'what to say' (strategic planning) attracts brainstorming and 'how to say' (creative execution) is considered glamorous,the 'where to say' does not receive sufficient attention.Usually no one ever thinks it is important to involve the media person at the strategic planning stage or the creative planning stage while working on a campaign.Often there is just a cursory representation of media in these meetings,in the form of a silent spectator who,if and when decides to speak up will do so n terms of banal statistics and numbers and jargon that often puts the 'creative' heads to sleep.

The Media-Creative marriage

Advertising is communication.Effective communication is a lot about presentation of the message.One of the media planner's most important jobs is to choose best vehicle for the exposure of this message.Entire budgets may end up going down the drain if the valuable crores of rupees are not allocated appropriately to reach out the message to the potential consumer.What one needs to make brilliant campaign is to establish close communication between the media planner and the copy group right from the early stages of plans development.This will help in one,the copy group understanding the exposure opportunities and limitations early on in the planning stage and two,in the media planner understanding the intended creative approach to guide in selection of media.

Today's media scene

The dynamic nature of today's media could be because of the umpteen number of entertainment and infotainment options that are today available to the consumers.Gone are the days of one Doordarshan,a few leading publications,and even fewer options of entertainment and outings.The arrival of he various satellite channels and publications and their ever-increasing numbers makes a planner's job quite tricky and skillful.Paradoxically,today's media fact is that though T.V viewing has shot up(in terms of no. of hours),reading habits have not going down.The high audience fragmentation;the  'freebie' survival tactics offered by many channels and publications who are giving'free' sports and space to win more advertising revenue from clients etc. all add to the complexities of media planning.

No wonder,given this scenario,agencies often fall into the trap of getting caught in the 'presented facts' rather than delving deep within to look at and evaluate the core.For most agencies,making deals and bargains is the order of the day and measure of their 'media' success,without adequate attention to reach and frequency.The cost -benefit ratio has gone for a toss,often ending up in the agencies spreading themselves thin.It's easier or today's media person to be a part of a herd mentality('I must be on T.V. because everyone else is on T.V.') than to turn the clock in their favor with great plans and ideas.

Large Indian advertisers have gone one step ahead.They have started negotiating with most channels and publications themselves with the result huge amounts are being spent but these are hardly getting media visibility.The entire focus is on media buying driven by better deals,rather than fine tune planning.

The Science of Media Planning

So,what is scientific media planning? How can a campaign utilize media planning to get more effective,rather than just media negotiation? A simple 6-Step process could help in making the intended campaign reach more incisively,or to put it more sportingly,you will hit a six with this super six step process

Step 1: The situation analysis

As is the accepted 'given' in most agencies,a media person works on a 'brief' that he is given by the client servicing person,or if lucky,straight from the client,by being a part of the client meeting.A smart planner would exercise his grey cells further and clearly understand the marketing problem,delve into the company and its competitors,understand the dynamics of size and share of market,study the sales history, distribution practices(yes,it helps to know how the brand you are working on reaches its end user),method of selling,before finally coming into the identification of the media.Too much,is never really too much,when it comes to gathering brand information,as the more we know,the more innovative we can get,in generating cut-throat media plan.

Step 2:Getting to the market strategy

Advertising is the means to achieve marketing objectives.Some ad professionals forget this and look at advertising as a creative field for fulfillment of creative urges.Very few of us realize the responsibilty that rests on our shoulders in this profession.Good media planners however,do realise the value of millions of rupees entrusted to them by their clients and judiciously spend each rupee to get the maximum mileage off it.Your media plan,as a good planner,must stick to this essence and revolve around activities that solve one or more marketing problem.To do this you must put the marketing objective in focus before you arrive at any media decisions.Based on these objectives you need to arrive at a 'Spending strategy' which you would apply after the identification of best market segment.

Step 3:Setting Media Objectives

Now that you have your spend strategy in line with the marketing objectives,the next big step is to translate these marketing objectives and spend strategies into goals that media can accomplish.To do this it is important to state the media objective in as clear a term as possible.For example if we are trying to sell a premium perfume that costs around Rs.3,500/- for a 100 ml bottle,the media objective could probably be

"To reach 80% women in the age group of 25-44,in SEC A+ and A,living in major metro towns(specify the towns),ensuring that they are exposed to the message at least 4 times a week( average frequency)". Compare this to a vague objective like "To reach all women in SEC A & A+", where in you could lose your focus as it does not offer you any direction to strategize.

Step 4: Determining the media strategy

Having set he objectives now comes the time to translate media goals into general guidelines that will control the planners selection and use of media.Analyse all possible data available and arrive at the best possible media class that can deliver your message to the maximum of the audience set as the target in our objective.Should this media class be Television,Dailies,Radio,Internet,Outdoor,Magazines or do we need to innovate? If any particular medium in unable to reach out to all 80%,then we llok at alternative media classes that will fill in the gap.Simply put,this means you need to choose broad media classes and determine the primary medium of message delivery to achieve the marketing objectives.Work out various strategies that can achieve our objectives,with the central point being simple audience delivery! Having done this,zoom in and select on the best strategy alternative that will lead you to your next step.

Step 5:Selection of media vehicles.

Having carefully picked and chosen the broad media classes,now you need to freeze on the exact vehicles that will deliver to the media objectives.It is best to know what you expect each of the medium and the chose vehicles to deliver.Here you will address issues like,who is each of these addressing from the targeted audience,what is he intended goal behind using this particular vehicle etc.

After arriving at a probable shortlist,compare and select the best media within the broad classes-If magazines which one? If Television -which channel? If newspaper - which one? If radio- which channels? Analyze these options and allocate approximate spends to each of these.

Step 6: Media use decisions

Having chosen the channels/newspapers/radio channels/websites etc.,now answer crucial questions like- what is the level of reach and frequency you think is needed to reach out to the target audience? Are there any specific days/months more important to help in achieving marketing objectives? What is the optimum number of insertions/spots required per week/month to fulfill the average frequency set in the media objective? Will having any preferred positions/placements within media help deliver message better? The more specific out questions and answers are the more bang-on our plan will be!

Going through these Super Sixes greatly reduced any weaknesses in planning.The more you use these steps to plan, the more astute and precise you rill get at the job of planning.With time you will realize that getting the best deal in media is not always about the best price at which you have bought media.Rather it is about how best you have got your target audience bought into your media selection so they buy enough of the brand you have been made a custodian of.So happy planning and may the New Year be a well planned year for you.

GLOSSARY OF URDU POETRY

NAZM: IN A BROADER  SENSE THE TERM IS USED TO DESCRIBE ALL KIND OF POETRY, AS DISTINGUISHED FROM PROSE.HOWEVER, IN ITS LITERARY SENSE A NAZM IS A WELL ORGANISED, LOGICALLY EVOLVING POEM ( UNLIKE THE GHAZAL ), WHERE EACH INDIVIDUAL VERSE SUB_SERVES THE NEED OF THE CENTRAL THOUGHT OR THEME. THOUGH THE NAZM IS TRADITIONALLY WRITTEN IN RHYMED VERSE, THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES OF NAZM IN UNRHYMED VERSE OR EVEN IN FREE VERSE.

MASNAVI: GENERALLY A LONG NARRATIVE POEM, MUCH LONGER THAN THE GHAZAL...EMBODYING RELIGIOUS, ROMANTIC OR DIDACTIC STORIES. IT IS WRITTEN IN RHYMING COUPLETS WITH EACH COUPLET HAVING A DIFFERENT RHYME AND RADEEF.

MARSIA: A POEM WRITTEN TO MOURN THE DEATH OF A GREAT MAN OR A DEARLY LOVED PERSON. IN ITS STRICTER SENSE, TRADITIONALLY ACCEPTED IN URDU, SPECIFICALLY IN HONOUR OF THE MARTYRDOM OF A GREAT MAN OR A DEARLY LOVED PERSON.

QASEEDA: A  POEM WRITTEN IN PRAISE OF A KING OR A NOBLEMAN OR A BENEFACTOR. AS IN A GHAZAL THE OPENING COUPLET OF A QASEEDA IS A RHYMING COUPLET, AND ITS RHYME IS REPEATED IN THE SECOND LINE OF EACH SUCCEEDING VERSE. THE OPENING PART OF QASEEDA, WHERE POET MAY TALK IN GENERAL ABOUT LOVE OR BEAUTY, MAN OR NATURE, LIFE OR DEATH, IS CALLED TASHBEEB OR TAMHEED.

RUBAI: A SELF SUFFICIENT QUATRAIN AND DEALING, GENERALLY, WITH A SINGLE IDEA, WHICH IT IS CUSTOMARY TO INTRODUCEWITH THE AID OF SIMILIES IN THE FIRST THREE LINES AND CONCLUDE WITH CONCENTRATED EFFECT, IN THE FOURTH LINE. ROMANTIC, PHILOSOPHIC THEMES ARE FAVOURITE SUBJECTS OF THE RUBAI.  

When advertising came full circle...

I was pretty amused when I overheard someone asking " if your media agency was to start offering strategic services, would you buy it from them? "

I thought probably this how life comes full circle…

I was reminded of the history of origin of the advertising agency, which I was taught by the legendary advertising professional K.Kurian. I was told that printing machines were by-products of the industrial revolution… the same industrial revolution that had converted rural societies into urban markets. Manufacturers were producing more than what they could sell in their traditional markets and the word of mouth wasn’t enough anymore. Journals too were looking for paid marketing messages (call it advertising ) to sustain their existence and to earn some profits. They hired people to sell space in their journals to manufacturers. Sellers realised that it was quite a tough task selling blank space… To make an effective sale, they started suggesting messages that manufacturers could say in the space they were selling. Some of the smart ones developed this art in a more professional manner and started setting up organisations which came to be nomenclature as advertising agencies. The fact has remained unchanged that advertising agencies are the agents of media and while they never charged a fee for selling creatively done space to their clients, they made their living out of the commission they got from the printers of the then journals, or the media houses as we refer to them now.

Over a period of time, agencies started hiring people with specialised skill sets and this eventually became the chief reason for clients to start hiring them.These specialised talents included:

The Account Planners- A rare breed, now extinct: this was the set of people who were well versed with research techniques and clearly understood that all advertising and mass media activities were to either solve a marketing problem or to seize a marketing opportunity for their client. After detailed analysis, this set of people used to arrive at a strategy which used to form the basis for both creative as well as media strategy… Sadly this specialised science and set of people died a slow and painful death, becoming extinct as I’m writing this piece today..

The Client Servicing  Team: This was the set that was the face of the agency to the client....they interact with clients on a day to day basis and in  our time, used to be the account planners’ eyes and ears.

The Creative set of Copywriters and Art directors: These were the talented breed who knew how to translate banal client message of "what to say" into  effective communications in terms of "how to say" the message so it can motivate to convert consumers in favour of client’s product and achieve marketing and sales objectives.

Media planners: Another extinct set, who were experts in achieving the last step of the advertising communications job of "where to say" the message so it could reach the maximum of the core target group. They analysed syndicated and other research data to ensure reach of right people in the right environment at the right price, in a manner that they could keep the client’s cash register ticking.

Then there was the media operations department, which today is confused for media planning...people employed here used to make sure that the media plan was implemented as planned.

Print and production experts: Their responsibility was to make sure that every printed communication- catalogues, folders, leaflets, calendars, brochures etc were reproduced exactly planned by their art directors. They themselves were printing experts who knew their job as well, if not better than the printers.

Film production executives: They used to be film professionals themselves knowledgeable to the extent that a lot of smaller films were directed and delivered by them… They however did this following the basic rules of advertising, and understood that their job too was to keep the cash register ticking.

Public Relations, used to earlier be the responsibility of the account planner and media planner who used to make yearly plans which the media operations team used to help action. Public Relations then did not mean a bunch of clippings alone ever. It was instead an integral part total marketing and advertising activities aimed at working in sync with the overall communications plan and deliver result accordingly.

But that was then, when there was talent and the thrill was to see a brand climb up to number one spot with sheer power of great big ideas…

The decay in the Indian advertising industry started at the same time as the Harshad Mehta's stock exchange scam. A lot of agencies mushroomed with so called  ‘financial advertising expertise’ and soon after the bubble burst they morphed into public relations agencies of today.

The real death blow to Indian advertising came with arrival of Mr. Martin Sorrel in late 80s and early 90s. This gentleman, an accountant by profession knew how to make most of Indian greed and bought almost all Indian agencies, iconic by the campaigns they made. With him came a time when the Indian Newspapers Society's (INS) rule of not sharing commission with anyone was broken and INS and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) arrived at a formula wherein a creative agency was to get 12.5% and buying agency 2.5% of the media commission. It is these buying agencies which today go by the name Media Agency… now you know why when the question is asked " if your media agency was to start offering strategic consulting services, would you buy it from them? ', why I am sadly amused, and confused, not knowing whether to laugh or cry for a profession that is so close to my heart and which we all built with contribution of our personal time...

 The Height Of COOMMODIFICATION Of MEDIA

It was in the decade of 90s. I was Media Director of RADEUS and a member of Advertising Agencies Association O f India's Training And Professional Development Commitee.

I used to request every media house owner,who used to visit me to promote their media vehicles that please keep your media rate card sancrocsent. Reason, fiddling with media rate card had just begun.

My biggest worry was that there will be a day when traders will take over our profession and that would be the end of the profession in this country.

Reading today's Mid-Day confirmed my fear. There is a full page advertisement which reads " Calling all Media Savvy buyers, Agencies & Entrepreneurs

Want to get the maximum bang for your money...

Guarenteed

Lowest Rates 

For your MEDIA CAMPAIGN 

The advertisement also go on to give slabs for buying...Rs 25 lacs, 50 lacs, 1 crore, 3 crore, 5 crore

they promise that they will get rates lower than prevailing lowest rates in the market. My qquestion is how do you decide what is the lowest prevailing rate in the market?

Should you buy something for Rs 10.00, I may buy it with my skills for Rs 7.00

Or all media are going to publish their lowest rate cards?

Media Planning and Media Buying is a mix of Science and Art which must lead to commerce' i mean business for clients. Keeping their cash register ticking.

I do not know who are the people promoting this " GOLD MAX TRADE N BIZ PVT. LTD. " and how much do they know about media planning. According to me today's the saddest day for all media planners that their profession has finally been converted into TRADE, i hang my head in shame.

The only Media House which neve ever caved in business pressures and never compromised on their rate card is The Hindu and I salute TheHindu and wish other media houses too had similar spine.

Guarenteed